God's Word for 1st Sunday of Advent B

1st Sunday of Advent B

27th November 2011

Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
 

Isaiah 63:16-17, 64:1, 3-8. Psalm 79:2-3.15-16, 18-19 Rv.4. 1Cor. 1:3-9.

Lord, you are our Father; we are all the work of your hands.

Let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

God by calling you has joined you to his Son, Jesus Christ.

Stay awake because you do not know when the master of the house is coming.

Gospel Mk 13:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his own work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'"

Feeling good or doing good?

Life can be so engrossing that we forget the purpose of it. We all think that our life is our own. Yet it isn’t. It hangs by a thread. We like to think that good health, good income, good family and friends, are forever while in fact they are temporary at best. Even if we don’t think they are forever, we think they won’t disappear now.  

            But everything passes so soon. While we are young we may think youth will never end! We learn that this is not true. Middle age comes soon and following fast on its heels comes old age. Old age does not come alone!

            Jesus tells us today that we have this life on trust. God has given us this life and everything in it. But he has also given us something he hasn’t given to any other creature, namely the power to make our own choices. We can live our own life, yet we don’t own our life. One day he will ask us how we spent it. God leaves us free to decide how we live our life but has also given us guidelines for a happy life. Whatever walk of life we choose he has given us what we call commandments – guidelines for happiness. With every walk of life come responsibilities too. To fulfil these is to please God and experience fulfilment. If I am a married man or women, then holiness will consist in fulfilling my responsibility to love my spouse and my children. To forget this and do other things however ‘holy in themselves’ is not a life that is pleasing to God. If I am a son or a daughter, pleasing God consists in fulfilling with love my responsibilities as a child. The way of holiness is not something outside our life but is built into the very structure of the life we have chosen to live. We cannot substitute the responsibilities of our state of life with acts of piety such as going to church, involvement in church activities, even helping those in need. Through religion we gain the wisdom and inner strength to fulfil the duties of our state of life and already now offer our life to God.

            God is love and we who are made in the image of God should do everything out of love for God, our neighbour and ourselves. This is the second guideline for a life pleasing to God. To love is to live both now and in eternity.

            Are you ‘awake’ to what life is about? Do you fulfil your responsibilities with love for God, your neighbour and yourself? If Jesus were to come today could you welcome him? Would you know him?

            Advent is a wakeup call!

Father give us the wisdom to make the right choices in life and the strength to fulfil with love the responsibilities of the life we choose.