3 December 2023: Mark 13:33-37

Please read the passage before reading the homily. 

My sisters and brothers,

Stay awake; be watchful!  We do not know when Jesus will come back.

Peter, James, and John failed their test for staying awake.  In the garden of Gethsemane, they slept as Jesus was entering the ordeal of his dying.

Will we fail the test as well?  We do not know the day of the return.  The time between the ascension of Jesus and his coming again is getting longer, as we tell time, but it is now as God reckons time.  When God’s time intersects with our time, we shall have no time left.  We must stay awake!

Are we afraid he will come too soon?  If we love God, why would we fear?  We fear when we think things bad will happen.  If Christ’s coming brings the perfection of his saving power for us, why should we be afraid?  If Christ is coming in glory to bring us with him, should we not be joyful?

When we were kids, we had to wait a long time for Christmas to come and for us to get all our presents.  That joyful expectation of presents that we had as kids is what should be having as Christians waiting for the coming of the Lord in glory.  When we were kids, Christmas was the only time we were rich enough to have presents.  We Christians now are always rich enough for the gift of salvation.

When Mom and Dad were out, we kids used to have to make our beds, vacuum the floor, get the dishes done before they came home.  It was a scurry of work, fast but certain, as we raced to finish chores and sit down before they returned home.

We have entered Advent, a time for awaiting the coming of the Lord.  In one sense, we are awaiting Christmas, but in a broader and truer sense we re awaiting the final and definitive coming of Christ in all his glory.   Advent prepares us for the coming at Christmas so that the coming at Christmas may prepare us for the glorious coming when our time melts into God’s eternity, and God is all in all.