STAY AWAKE
STAY AWAKE
HOMILY FOR FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR A)
(Isaiah 2:1-5, psalm 121,Romans 13:11-14, Matt. 24:37-44 )
BY: Rev. Fr. Solomon Patrick Zaku
Today being the first day of the month of December- the last month of the year is also the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is one of the five seasons of the churches’ liturgical calendar. Advent is a season observed in the Church as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means coming. The Aramaic word is maranatha, which means the Lord (Maran) is coming (natha).
During Advent we prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This coming of Jesus is twofold.
Firstly it is the time we prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas- the incarnation. (First Coming); that’s why much of the Traditional scripture readings and songs for Advent come from the Old Testament prophets. We borrow their language to express our own longing for Christ to come again. As we celebrate Christ’s birth we recognize that, by our union with Him, we participate in an event which took place 2,000 years ago. We are not pretending that Jesus hasn’t been born yet, we are celebrating the historical event of his first Coming!
The second coming of Christ that we celebrate is his future coming, often called his Second Advent. Jesus told us that he would come again and take us to himself that we might be with him forever (John 14:3). In the Nicene Creed the church proclaims: “He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.” Thus our Advent celebration also looks forward to the future to the Last Judgment, and to God’s restoration of all things through Jesus Christ (Rev. 21).
As we prepare for the coming of our lord Jesus Christ, one important thing that we need to do is to stay awake. Staying awake will make us to be ready at all times to receive Jesus when he come.
The Gospel we read speak to us on the need to be vigilant at all time as we await the coming of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ. We need to be awake for us to receive Jesus at his first coming and his second coming.
The question one may ask is what does it mean to stay awake and why do we need to stay awake? To stay awake for the coming of Jesus at Christmas is to live a blameless life and prepare ones heart to receive the new born king. To stay awake for the second coming of Jesus is to live good life and always doing what is expected of us so that the lord will find us ready to receive him.
It means one is obliged to be a person of conscience. One should not stifle one’s conscience. One should not distort it. One must call good and evil by name. One should not confuse them. One should increase the good in oneself and try to correct the bad.
One must be watchful. It also means that one should see the other person’s needs. One should try and know the person and love him or her.
In the second reading, St. Paul writes: “wake from sleep” (Rom 13, 11). Any vice can be called a “sleep” because the soul which is sunk in any vice can perform no virtuous activity, and in such a state the soul sees nothing but a dream world, phantoms and visions without any reality. Riches and glory are dreams of this kind. We must watch, then, and should not fall asleep. He alone is awake who is prepared to attend to his salvation.
We must be awake; we must be vigilant. The cause of the sins and disasters of the human race is lack of vigilance. Vigilance is necessary even with regard to temporal things-with regard to property, that no one encroaches upon our property, with regard to our money, with regard to our house to make sure it is in good condition. Citizens have to be vigilant with regards to their fundamental human rights. We have to be vigilant with regard to our schools. We have to be vigilant with regard to our health. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom!
Above all we have to be vigilant with regard to our eternal salvation. We are called to supernatural vigilance, so that we can prepare ourselves each day for eternal life. As Cardinal John Henry Newman emphasized: “We are not simply, to believe, but to watch; not simply to love, but to watch; not simply to obey, but to watch… and thus it happens that watching is a suitable test of a Christian. This is because to watch is to be detached from what is present, and to live in what is unseen, to live in the thought of Christ as he came once, and as he will come again; to desire his second coming.”
St. Paul writes: “Let us then lay aside work of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom 13, 12). Work of darkness are violence, lust, drunkenness, jealousy, quarrelling, etc. We have to avoid sin. We must put away bad habits.
Every expression of hostility towards others builds a wall of tension between people and reveals a heart of stone. Every act of discrimination is an act of injustice and a violation of personal dignity. Every time we are intolerant we close our eyes to God’s image in the other person. Every time we fail to recognize the demand for worldwide justice, we fail to grasp the meaning of our universal solidarity.
But when we speak with kind words, when we respect and honor one another, when we show true friendship, when we offer hospitality, when we make an effort to understand the differences between peoples, then we become the living sign that Isaiah’s vision is being realized, that the kingdom of God has come among us, that the universal advent of history is proceeding towards its fulfillment. “In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nation shall stream to it. Many people shall come and say: ‘come let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths’” (Isa 2, 2-3).
We must “put on the armor of light” (Rom 13, 12). We must be clothed in virtue. All states of life, all vocations, all places, all activities, even the humblest ones, present to us as a field where we can wholly involve ourselves in mutual love.
“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires” (Rom 13, 14). “The flesh” does not mean sexual sin, although it may. It is all of the human that escapes God’s control. It is what St. John calls “the world” as opposed to the “life” that Jesus said he would give.
As the days continue to darken earlier in this season, we are summoned to the light at the end of the Advent tunnel. That light is Christ.
Jesus will come again. He will come at the end of our life to crown the efforts we have made to live his words. A certainty such as this cannot leave us indifferent. Rather it should be translated into commitment, determination, and enthusiasm. At the end of our life when we meet Jesus the only thing that will remain is how much love we have shown to our brothers and sisters.
“When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the saviour’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming (cf. Rev 22, 17.
The gospel we read tells us Jesus will come at the time we do not expect. He compare his coming with three instances:
The Gospel says: “As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Mt 24, 37-39). It could happen that we may be feasting and very secure in life. But our very security and comfort can become our ruin. We may be so safe, so comfortable, and so secure that in our fancied safety we may forget eternal life.
Secondly the Gospel says: “Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left” (Mt 24, 40-41). To all appearances, the two farmers in the field and the two women at the mill are doing the same thing. Their actions are quite alike, but not their inward attitude. One is not alert. One of them reckons only with himself and his plans; the other with God and his intervention. One is absorbed in his work; the other is with God even at his work. One is asleep within; the other watches. These two texts throw a welcome light on our everyday life. Our work in itself is less important than the way in which it is done.
Thirdly, Jesus compared his second coming with the coming of a thief. The Lord tell us: “You do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this, if the owner of the house had known at what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour” (Mt 24, 42-44). No one knows the day of his death. No one can anticipate its arrival. It can come suddenly and surprisingly, in the middle of work, during sleep, or at play. Being prepared for death is being prepared for the Parousia or the second coming of our lord Jesus Christ. To be soberly mindful of this hour and to hold oneself in readiness for it is the attitude which the Christian should have with the regard to the coming of his Lord.
Life slips through the fingers of most of us without our realizing it. It can be said that today does not worry us very much because it will be followed by tomorrow and so we lose them both. On all side we are surrounded by the signs of our end. Where is our childhood? Where is our youth? All things pass. Only God remains. “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful---for he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim 2, 11-13).
The gospel by inviting us to stay awake is not in any way installing fear into our minds but calling us to live as true Christian. What then can we do to practically show we are awake?
Let us not loose heart: many people today are oppressed by grief, they have lost heart and have given up even hoping! A wife abandoned by her husband, a girl despised because she has become pregnant, the man lost his job because his colleagues were envious and so on.
We must not allow ourselves to be carried away by the pleasure of sin: we must not allow ourselves to be trapped by sins. We must do all within our power to overcome sin and temptations
Be vigilant and prayerful. We are exhorted to be vigilant and. Jesus has asked us to stay awake and be prayerful because we do not know the hour the son of man will come.
What does it mean to stay awake? It is not about denying ourselves sleep or making physical arrangement for our death. To stay awake means to be ready to meet the lord any times he comes. We are to go about carrying out our day to the activities in the way that pleases God. All the good thing we have to do today, let’s do it. If there are people we need to reconcile with, let’s do it, let’s do the good we need to do today for tomorrow maybe too late.
Dear listener, how prepared are you today to meet Jesus? Has Jesus come to your life? What do you need to do before Jesus comes? As we begin this season of advent and as we prepare for Christ, you are challenged to be ready at all times so that when the lord Jesus appears, you will be found worthy to attend the wedding feast of the lamb.
I pray the lord will grant you the grace to live a holy life so that any time Jesus comes he will find you ready. May you have the grace to overcome temptations so that nothing will stop you from being a good and faithful Christian. Through Christ our lord. Amen.
HOMILY FOR FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR A)
(Isaiah 2:1-5, psalm 121,Romans 13:11-14, Matt. 24:37-44 )
BY: Rev. Fr. Solomon Patrick Zaku
Today being the first day of the month of December- the last month of the year is also the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is one of the five seasons of the churches’ liturgical calendar. Advent is a season observed in the Church as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means coming. The Aramaic word is maranatha, which means the Lord (Maran) is coming (natha).
During Advent we prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This coming of Jesus is twofold.
Firstly it is the time we prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas- the incarnation. (First Coming); that’s why much of the Traditional scripture readings and songs for Advent come from the Old Testament prophets. We borrow their language to express our own longing for Christ to come again. As we celebrate Christ’s birth we recognize that, by our union with Him, we participate in an event which took place 2,000 years ago. We are not pretending that Jesus hasn’t been born yet, we are celebrating the historical event of his first Coming!
The second coming of Christ that we celebrate is his future coming, often called his Second Advent. Jesus told us that he would come again and take us to himself that we might be with him forever (John 14:3). In the Nicene Creed the church proclaims: “He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.” Thus our Advent celebration also looks forward to the future to the Last Judgment, and to God’s restoration of all things through Jesus Christ (Rev. 21).
As we prepare for the coming of our lord Jesus Christ, one important thing that we need to do is to stay awake. Staying awake will make us to be ready at all times to receive Jesus when he come.
The Gospel we read speak to us on the need to be vigilant at all time as we await the coming of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ. We need to be awake for us to receive Jesus at his first coming and his second coming.
The question one may ask is what does it mean to stay awake and why do we need to stay awake? To stay awake for the coming of Jesus at Christmas is to live a blameless life and prepare ones heart to receive the new born king. To stay awake for the second coming of Jesus is to live good life and always doing what is expected of us so that the lord will find us ready to receive him.
It means one is obliged to be a person of conscience. One should not stifle one’s conscience. One should not distort it. One must call good and evil by name. One should not confuse them. One should increase the good in oneself and try to correct the bad.
One must be watchful. It also means that one should see the other person’s needs. One should try and know the person and love him or her.
In the second reading, St. Paul writes: “wake from sleep” (Rom 13, 11). Any vice can be called a “sleep” because the soul which is sunk in any vice can perform no virtuous activity, and in such a state the soul sees nothing but a dream world, phantoms and visions without any reality. Riches and glory are dreams of this kind. We must watch, then, and should not fall asleep. He alone is awake who is prepared to attend to his salvation.
We must be awake; we must be vigilant. The cause of the sins and disasters of the human race is lack of vigilance. Vigilance is necessary even with regard to temporal things-with regard to property, that no one encroaches upon our property, with regard to our money, with regard to our house to make sure it is in good condition. Citizens have to be vigilant with regards to their fundamental human rights. We have to be vigilant with regard to our schools. We have to be vigilant with regard to our health. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom!
Above all we have to be vigilant with regard to our eternal salvation. We are called to supernatural vigilance, so that we can prepare ourselves each day for eternal life. As Cardinal John Henry Newman emphasized: “We are not simply, to believe, but to watch; not simply to love, but to watch; not simply to obey, but to watch… and thus it happens that watching is a suitable test of a Christian. This is because to watch is to be detached from what is present, and to live in what is unseen, to live in the thought of Christ as he came once, and as he will come again; to desire his second coming.”
St. Paul writes: “Let us then lay aside work of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom 13, 12). Work of darkness are violence, lust, drunkenness, jealousy, quarrelling, etc. We have to avoid sin. We must put away bad habits.
Every expression of hostility towards others builds a wall of tension between people and reveals a heart of stone. Every act of discrimination is an act of injustice and a violation of personal dignity. Every time we are intolerant we close our eyes to God’s image in the other person. Every time we fail to recognize the demand for worldwide justice, we fail to grasp the meaning of our universal solidarity.
But when we speak with kind words, when we respect and honor one another, when we show true friendship, when we offer hospitality, when we make an effort to understand the differences between peoples, then we become the living sign that Isaiah’s vision is being realized, that the kingdom of God has come among us, that the universal advent of history is proceeding towards its fulfillment. “In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nation shall stream to it. Many people shall come and say: ‘come let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths’” (Isa 2, 2-3).
We must “put on the armor of light” (Rom 13, 12). We must be clothed in virtue. All states of life, all vocations, all places, all activities, even the humblest ones, present to us as a field where we can wholly involve ourselves in mutual love.
“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires” (Rom 13, 14). “The flesh” does not mean sexual sin, although it may. It is all of the human that escapes God’s control. It is what St. John calls “the world” as opposed to the “life” that Jesus said he would give.
As the days continue to darken earlier in this season, we are summoned to the light at the end of the Advent tunnel. That light is Christ.
Jesus will come again. He will come at the end of our life to crown the efforts we have made to live his words. A certainty such as this cannot leave us indifferent. Rather it should be translated into commitment, determination, and enthusiasm. At the end of our life when we meet Jesus the only thing that will remain is how much love we have shown to our brothers and sisters.
“When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the saviour’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming (cf. Rev 22, 17.
The gospel we read tells us Jesus will come at the time we do not expect. He compare his coming with three instances:
The Gospel says: “As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Mt 24, 37-39). It could happen that we may be feasting and very secure in life. But our very security and comfort can become our ruin. We may be so safe, so comfortable, and so secure that in our fancied safety we may forget eternal life.
Secondly the Gospel says: “Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left” (Mt 24, 40-41). To all appearances, the two farmers in the field and the two women at the mill are doing the same thing. Their actions are quite alike, but not their inward attitude. One is not alert. One of them reckons only with himself and his plans; the other with God and his intervention. One is absorbed in his work; the other is with God even at his work. One is asleep within; the other watches. These two texts throw a welcome light on our everyday life. Our work in itself is less important than the way in which it is done.
Thirdly, Jesus compared his second coming with the coming of a thief. The Lord tell us: “You do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this, if the owner of the house had known at what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour” (Mt 24, 42-44). No one knows the day of his death. No one can anticipate its arrival. It can come suddenly and surprisingly, in the middle of work, during sleep, or at play. Being prepared for death is being prepared for the Parousia or the second coming of our lord Jesus Christ. To be soberly mindful of this hour and to hold oneself in readiness for it is the attitude which the Christian should have with the regard to the coming of his Lord.
Life slips through the fingers of most of us without our realizing it. It can be said that today does not worry us very much because it will be followed by tomorrow and so we lose them both. On all side we are surrounded by the signs of our end. Where is our childhood? Where is our youth? All things pass. Only God remains. “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful---for he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim 2, 11-13).
The gospel by inviting us to stay awake is not in any way installing fear into our minds but calling us to live as true Christian. What then can we do to practically show we are awake?
Let us not loose heart: many people today are oppressed by grief, they have lost heart and have given up even hoping! A wife abandoned by her husband, a girl despised because she has become pregnant, the man lost his job because his colleagues were envious and so on.
We must not allow ourselves to be carried away by the pleasure of sin: we must not allow ourselves to be trapped by sins. We must do all within our power to overcome sin and temptations
Be vigilant and prayerful. We are exhorted to be vigilant and. Jesus has asked us to stay awake and be prayerful because we do not know the hour the son of man will come.
What does it mean to stay awake? It is not about denying ourselves sleep or making physical arrangement for our death. To stay awake means to be ready to meet the lord any times he comes. We are to go about carrying out our day to the activities in the way that pleases God. All the good thing we have to do today, let’s do it. If there are people we need to reconcile with, let’s do it, let’s do the good we need to do today for tomorrow maybe too late.
Dear listener, how prepared are you today to meet Jesus? Has Jesus come to your life? What do you need to do before Jesus comes? As we begin this season of advent and as we prepare for Christ, you are challenged to be ready at all times so that when the lord Jesus appears, you will be found worthy to attend the wedding feast of the lamb.
I pray the lord will grant you the grace to live a holy life so that any time Jesus comes he will find you ready. May you have the grace to overcome temptations so that nothing will stop you from being a good and faithful Christian. Through Christ our lord. Amen.
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