YEAR A
ADVENT SEASON
First Sunday of Advent [Mt 24:37-44]
27.11.2022
The
Necessity of Watchfulness to Meet the Son of Man
- Theme in brief
Readiness
to meet the Lord whenever he comes
- Focus Statement
We have
to be always alert and vigilant so as not to get totally engrossed in material
(worldly) affairs, and not to be found unprepared to meet the Lord when he comes
at an unexpected hour.
- Explanation of
the text
In today’s gospel Jesus compares “the coming of the Son of Man” (also called Parousia or the Second Coming of Christ) to two imageries: (1) the sudden coming of the flood in Noah’s time (in the OT); and (2) the unexpected coming of a thief. The text answers three questions: (1) What happened in the days of Noah? The flood came suddenly and unexpectedly. The wicked people knew nothing until it came at their doorstep (24:38). (2) What were the people doing at that time? They were fully preoccupied with worldly affairs such as eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage (24:38). (3) What did the flood do or what happened then? It swept away (or destroyed) everybody. They were totally unprepared and miserably perished in the deluge (24:9).
In the second imagery (24:43), Jesus makes use of the common practice of a thief breaking into anybody’s house at an unexpected hour of the night and the owner getting caught off guard. If he knew the date and time he would have stayed awake the whole night and fortified himself with all types of weapons and defence force.
Jesus further instructs his disciples that he may come suddenly in the midst of daily work or chores; for instance, while men work in the field and women grind at the mill (24:40-41). At that time, there will be an irreversible separation between those who are prepared and those who are not; those who are prepared will be taken away with him and those who are not will be left behind.
To the question, “What must the disciples do?” Jesus answers that they must keep awake, that is, be alert and vigilant always, because they do not know the exact time when he is going to come (24:42). They should be ready to meet him even if he comes at an odd time or unexpected hour (24:44).
- Application to life
As the
Church begins the Advent Season, on the first Sunday she focuses our attention not
on the first but on the second or final coming of Christ. Spiritual authors and
liturgists speak of threefold coming of Christ: in history, mystery and majesty.
Though we are preparing for the commemoration of
his coming in history (that
is, his historical birth) on Christmas Day, this gives us an opportunity to
think and reflect about his Second Coming at the end of time in glory and majesty, and prepare for it by strengthening ourselves in
holiness as we encounter him in the mystery of the
Word and sacraments, especially in the Hoy Eucharist. This threefold coming is beautifully expressed in
the three invocations optionally prescribed for the penitential rite of the
Holy Mass, instead of the traditional “Lord have mercy. The priest says: “Lord
Jesus, you came to gather the nations in the peace of God’s Kingdom”; “You come in Word and sacrament to strengthen us in holiness”; and
“You will come in glory with salvation for
your people”. We can relate his manifold comings to the poem written by Rabindranath Tagore: “Have you not heard his
silent steps? He comes, comes, ever comes. Every moment and every age, every
day and every night he comes, comes, ever comes.”
As the
first Sunday of Advent is meant to prepare us for “the advent of Christ” at the
end of the world, we can also personally apply this advent of the Lord to meet
us at the end of our earthly journey, that is, at our death. Which will come first:
next Christmas, or our own death, or the Second Coming of Christ or end of the
world? Not knowing for sure and when exactly the
Lord will come, we have to be ready to meet him whenever he comes. Hence, Jesus
tells us today: "You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour" (24:44).
How to be ready? In today’s gospel Jesus instructs us to be ready by keeping awake, that is, being always
alert and vigilant to meet him
whenever he comes. Normally, we make a lot of
efforts to keep awake when we feel very sleepy. Similarly, a lot of efforts are
needed to remain alert and vigilant in spiritual matters. Keeping awake implies a constant awareness of the Risen Lord’s presence in all situations of
life and a willingness to do what he wants us to do. It also means resisting
all that goes against God’s will. In the words of St. Paul, it also means waking up from our sleep and casting off the works of
darkness such as revelling, drunkenness,
debauchery, licentiousness, quarrelling and jealousy; and in its place, putting
on the armour
of light that comes from Christ (Rom
13:11-14).
But the problem with us is often we are unprepared to welcome the Lord because of our preoccupation with material and worldly affairs. Far from constant vigil and readiness to meet him by leading a life worthy of our call, we tend to be engrossed in day-to-day business and worldly concerns. Actually, from the days of Noah till today people are too busy in work, celebrations, eating, drinking and other social activities. According to the Book of Genesis, in Noah’s time the wickedness of humankind had reached such a height that “every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). In those days people had become “so corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence” (Gen 6:11). They thought God was “out of sight;” hence, they kept him “out of mind.” But a sudden flood swept away or swallowed u p all the securities they had put in material things and merry-making.
When
people put all their trust in material things, they don’t know where to go when
a sudden “flood” such as a sudden accident, serious illness, economic
recession, tsunami, cyclone (hurricane/ typhoon), earthquake, inflation, terrorist
attack, etc., bangs at their door. Then they feel life is meaningless and empty! This is what has happened in various parts of
the world when terrorist attacks took place and people as well as the
governments of those countries, in spite of the best intelligence and defence
arsenal, were caught unprepared. Therefore, the Lord warns us not to
live like the wicked in Noah’s times, as if eating and drinking, work and
business or worldly duties and responsibilities were the only purpose
of life. Looking at our life from the perspective of our faith, we understand
that we are put here on earth by God with a purpose. God has a plan
for each one of us. God has put us on this earth to make a personal contribution to his cause. For persons of faith, life becomes meaningful only when they co-operate
with God to realize his plan, in the particular way he
wants them to do so. If one fails to do what God intends one to do with one’s
life, then life would be meaningless.
If so, today’s gospel message
motivates us to question the meaning, purpose and significance of our life.
Once we do this, we begin “living” life rather than just existing. As Socrates
said, “An unexamined life is not worth living”. Today’s gospel leads to
self-examination: Why am I here on earth? Am I here only to eat and drink; only
to grumble, complain, blame, find faults, criticize; only to be lukewarm and
indifferent; only to live for oneself? We are here to find fulfilment by living
life with a passion. Experts tell us that “the purpose of life is to live a life of purpose”.
Our purpose is concerned with the values which we uphold so strongly that we
want them realized in our life. Let me cite some examples to see whether many
Christians are motivated
to live a life purpose by thinking or acting beyond the shell of “SELF”.
When I ask our Catholic youth about the purpose of their lives, many of them say – studying hard, getting a good result, securing a high job, marrying respectably in the society and getting settled in life is the aim of their lives. When I ask those who come to attend Marriage Preparation Courses about the purpose of their marriage, many of them give only personal or physical, social and economic reasons. Though these reasons are essential for life, very few think and dream of something higher or beyond the circle of self. Only when we will live life with a passion we dream of contributing something specific for others’ or world’s welfare. Above all, we should not forget what really counts in life is our eternal salvation which is gained, as Jesus tells us, by rendering concrete deeds of mercy to the least of our brethren (Mt 25: 40). The people who perished in the deluge in Noah’s days “knew nothing” about the real purpose of life “until the flood came and swept them away” (24:39). They were so selfish that they totally neglected what is essential in life – centrality of God in our life and our concern for the needy.
To be
watchful and alert means to ward off carelessness about the most essential concern
or purpose of our life and being ready always and at all times to meet the
Lord. The Lord comes unexpectedly like a thief to break in our indifference.
He comes to us in the midst of our most ordinary occupations: our daily work,
household chores, social activities and relationships. He also comes in the
daily events, in prayer and sacraments, and in the guise of the poor and the downtrodden.
He comes and meets us through thick and thin of life. We need faith to
recognize him; or else he may pass by us. In today’s gospel Jesus says, at
last, at the end of our lives or at the end of the world (whichever comes
first) when he manifests himself in full glory, he will take with him those who
are ready
and leave behind those who are not ready. Thus, there will be an irreversible separation between
the saved and the lost. For those who are always actively watchful, the moment of meeting
the Lord will be a joyful event and not a frightful one. Our joy will
reach its heights when he will fulfil our heart’s desire as we “await the blessed hope” of his coming in glory (cf. the liturgy of
the Mass).
Yes, Advent is a season of blessed hope that our expectations will be fulfilled
when we meet the Lord and receive the crown of glory he has promised. The hope
of future glory should prompt us to live a life of hope. This in turn should motivate
us to live a positive life. Many people live a life of negativity about everything: negative about our
world, country, the Church, family and life itself. They allow negativity to
dominate their thinking and acting. Actually speaking, if we are negative about
everything in life, we not only condemn ourselves to unhappy and joyless life
but also negate
our faith in Jesus Christ. He has defeated the negative forces of evil and eternal death. He has
also shown us that genuine love has power to defeat the power of hatred and vengeance. If so, negativity directly
contradicts these truths of faith.
- Response to
God's Word
Do we lead a care-free, careless and purposeless life? Do we realize that God has put us on this earth for a greater cause? What is that greater cause? Is there any meaninglessness that has crept into our life? What is our dream of making a specific contribution and giving a specific message to the world? Are we ready and prepared to meet the Lord any moment of our life? Do we recognize Him when He comes in our day-to-day events and situations? Will we be suddenly swept away like the people in Noah’s days when Christ comes at the end of our life or at the end of the world? Will our material securities save us then? More than God’s, are we attuned to the devil’s refrain: “No hurry; don’t worry?” Are we waiting for the Lord’s coming eagerly and joyfully, or frightfully?
- A prayer
Deliver
us from our tendency to become so much engrossed in day-to-day business and worldly
concerns that we keep you out of our consideration. Grant that we may not put
all our securities in material things so that we are not suddenly swept away
when you come. As we await the blessed hope of your coming, give us the grace
to be watchful and alert so that we can ward off carelessness about the most
essential concern or purpose of our life. Come, Lord Jesus. Come and fulfil our
heart’s desire. For the Kingdom, the
power and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.
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