“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away; He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back – whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
Mark 13:32-37
It is officially the first day of the new year in the Christian calendar – the first Sunday in Advent. This season, marked by the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, is one of watching, waiting, and preparing. It is a time for reflecting upon the coming of Christ, the anniversary of our God’s coming to be with us. We, like the Hebrew prophets before us, look forward to the entry of the King.
And yet, we are not simply like our Old Testament counterparts watching for the birth of the Messiah. No, we live in a world which has already experienced the incarnation, the death, and the resurrection. We are not waiting simply to celebrate an anniversary. We are waiting for his Return, the Second Coming of Christ.
Enter the reading for today. “What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!” But what does it mean to watch for the Lord? What does it mean to sit at the door awaiting the return of the owner of the house?
Certainly it is to be awake and ready. We must keep ourselves aware of the world, aware of ourselves and the state of our souls. Are we falling into sleep spiritually? Are we more concerned with things of this world than of those above? We must not neglect the warnings Jesus here gives. “Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” We must be constantly vigilant; this present may well be the world’s last night.
And yet, such preparedness is not all that is involved with watching for our Lord. The Scripture verse tells us that the owner “puts his servants in charge” when he goes away. There are tasks to be completed, services to render. At the Ascension, Christ left his followers the responsibility to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). We must continue to proclaim the light of the Gospel to a dark world, to give God the glory and honour due to his name, and to lead the world in justice and love and peace.
Spend this Advent season with God. Reflect upon his coming as a tiny babe. And awaken in expectation of his second coming.
“Watch!”
