1st Sunday of Advent (A)
Matthew 24:37-44
“Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come”(Mt.24:42).
Today we begin the season of Advent. The emphasis of the liturgy is the end of the world and we are called to be vigilant for the second coming of Christ. In the gospel Jesus said, “Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come”(v.42). The coming of the Lord can be understood in different ways. John Shea said, “When through the teachings of Jesus, God’s redeeming presence enters human consciousness, ‘the day of the Lord’ or the ‘Son of Man’ has arrived.”
How can we let God’s redeeming presence enter our consciousness? All of us are anxious to matter. It seems however, that the obvious gauge of our greatness beside titles and popularity is the things that we accomplished. Everyday we are occupied with different activities. We want to be productive and we really work hard to reach our goals. But the questions are: Do we still find our life exciting, full of meaning and purpose? Can we still afford to pay attention to the people around us? Can we see how the Spirit of God works in our lives?
Stephen Covey in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People told a story about a very strong woodcutter who asked for a job in a timber merchant, and he got it. The paid was really good and so were the work conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees. "Congratulations," the boss said. "Go on that way!" Very motivated for the boss’ words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he only could bring 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he only could bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees. "I must be losing my strength", the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on. "When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked. "Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees..."
We may be busy with so many things and yet we can still feel empty. The reason is because there are lots of energy suckers around us. They give us stress and they deplete our spirit with a sense of meaningful and purposeful existence. When we become preoccupied with this world’s affair but we can’t find any reason why we are doing it, it is a signal that we have neglected our spiritual life. We are not in anyway different from the people during the time of Noah. They were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage. They did not know that the flood was coming and they were all carried away.
A woman was working in a toy factory and she was always joyful. Her boss asked her the reason. Her response was, “Because every time I assemble a toy, I always think of a child that I can make happy.” This kind of positive outlook is only possible to those people who see how their works are grounded in God. Our body may be doing the job but it is our spirit that makes us aware of how God uses us as blessings to our fellow human beings. Like the axe that needs sharpening, we also need to sharpen our spirit to allow God’s presence penetrate our consciousness. We must stay awake to welcome the coming of the Lord. Prayer helps us to stay awake. When we pray we become in touch with God who is the source of all goodness. We become more vigilant and more responsive to His presence. We become more loving, more compassionate, more generous, and more faithful.
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