I ADVENT [A] Is 2:1-5; Rom 13:11-14; Mt 24:37-44

Early on Sunday morning, June 30, 1974, a hundred young people were dancing to the soul-rock music at Gulliver’s in Port Chester, on the border between New York and Connecticut. Suddenly the place was filled with flames and smoke. In a few minutes 24 were dead, burnt by fire, suffocated by smoke, or crushed in the exit passage by the escaping youngsters. According to the Mayor of Port Chester, the dancing crowd ignored the repeated and frantic warnings given by the band manager when he noticed the smoke. — Today’s second reading passes on to us the warnings given by St. Paul, and today’s Gospel gives Jesus’ warning to be vigilant and prepared for his coming as our Judge.

"Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." This gospel text indicates that the end will seem to be a peaceful and normal time, with people eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, and working in their homes or businesses.  In this routine normal life, it might be easy to forget the “coming of the Son of Man.”   In a reference to the story of Noah, Jesus says that the sin of the people was placing too much emphasis on the normal cares and necessities of life.  They were too concerned with eating and drinking – just as we are during the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s holidays.  Jesus reminds us that there is something more important than feasts or weddings: the Son of Man will come to us unexpectedly, either at our death or at the end of the world, and that could be at any moment.  

The man working in the field and the woman working at the mill will be “left”, because they won’t leave their work.  True enough – work is important.  We need to provide food and shelter for ourselves and our families.  But there is something more important than our work: the coming of the Son of Man, which will happen unexpectedly. We don’t know when a thief might break into our house, so we are prepared for him at all times.  We lock our doors and windows.  We leave a light on when we’re gone. We put in an alarm system. We insure our possessions.  We do these things now because a thief could come at some unknown time.  Hence, especially during this busy Christmas season, we must keep our daily life centered on Christ.

How do we prepare for the unexpected coming of the Son of Man?  In Jesus’ parable, we have an example of the proper and improper methods of waiting.  The faithful slave who, with sincerity and good management, has faithfully carried out his master’s instructions to ensure the welfare of his fellow-slaves (20:26-27), is always ready for his master’s coming. In contrast, the wicked servant is primarily concerned with power, food, and drink.  The master is the image for Jesus.   To be prepared for his coming (Mt  24:3, 36-43), we must be obedient to the Divine will, which means that our actions must serve the community.  The question we might ask is: “Am I being faithful and wise in caring for others while waiting for Christ’s return?”  The text reminds us that our preparation for the Incarnation of our Lord is only one aspect of our Advent preparation, and not necessarily the most important. St. Augustine says, “Live your life as you would like your death to be.”  Let us remind ourselves of our need to be prepared for our Lord’s return in judgment without “doomsday paranoia” on the one hand or complacency on the other.

 We need to have an Advent project to become alert and watchful in the spirit of today’s Gospel.  Every morning when we get up, let us pray, “Lord, show me someone today with whom I may share your love, mercy and forgiveness.”  St. Teresa of Calcutta once said, “Whatever you do in your family, for your children, for your husband, for your wife, you do for Jesus.”  Every night when we go to bed, let us ask ourselves, “Where have I found Christ today?”  The answer will be God’s Advent gift to us that day. By being alert and watchful, we’ll be getting an extra gift:  Christ himself.  There is a saying about being saved which goes back to St. Thomas Aquinas: “Without God, I can’t.  Without me, He won’t.”

Pope Benedict XVI explains: “To watch means to follow the Lord, to choose what He has chosen, to love what He has loved, to conform one's own life to His.” Then the Son of Man will come… and the Father will embrace us for resembling his Son.

According to CCC, “The Church, especially during Advent and Lent and above all at the Easter Vigil, re-reads and re-lives the great events of salvation history in the ‘today’ of her liturgy.”  During the liturgy today let’s ask for the grace to prepare ourselves during this season and unconditionally surrender ourselves to God’s will and remain prepared always so that we can say “Yes” to His will as Blessed Virgin Mary said in her big “Amen”.