Watching and waiting! The Moody Blues sang a hauntingly beautiful song with this very title: watching and waiting. In one of their most popular songs, Hall and Oates refer also to watching and waiting. Yes, watching almost always involves waiting!
Think about our lives here in this region where we live. We love a Mardi Gras parade, which we actually watch. But have you been to a Mardi Gras parade lately, watching involves waiting. Been to a Saints game lately in the Dome or a LSU game in Death Valley ? We actually watch the game, but how many of us are in the stadium, sometimes for hours, waiting.
There are literally dozens upon dozens of things we watch; many times waiting to watch them.
As people of faith, what are we watching and what are we waiting for? A great question for this first Sunday of Advent!
Advent seems to sneak up on us every year, yet here it is. Some of us may actually have been waiting for Advent. And now that it is here, we have plenty to watch. The liturgical colors have changed so now we are watching the Advent color of purple. We watch every Sunday in Advent as we light the Advent wreath, just as we did earlier in this liturgy. Advent is our “happy new year” in the Church. Advent is the time we set aside for both preparing for the Christmas celebration we are waiting for but also a reminder of the second coming, which we too should all be waiting for.
Our Advent celebration this year brings a change from the Sunday Gospel readings of Matthew, which we finished last Sunday, to Mark which we just heard proclaimed today. In our Gospel we hear a direct command from Jesus: Be watchful, be alert! Jesus, who remember taught often in parables from Matthew’s Gospel, offers a short parable today from St. Mark. He talks to us about a homeowner traveling, the servants and the gatekeeper. The servants are left to work around the home and the gatekeeper is specifically ordered to watch! And what is the gatekeeper watching for? The answer: the return of the homeowner. And we hear one warning in this short parable; don’t be asleep when the homeowner returns; no, be prepared, stay alert, be vigilant. Watch!
As we hear this Gospel we may find ourselves asking the question, what does this have to do with the coming of the baby Jesus? How is this a story of Advent or the coming Christmas celebration? Well, perhaps it is not; instead this is a story of the second coming of Jesus. Yes, Advent is about the preparation of our Christmas celebration, where we rejoice in the birth of the babe of Bethlehem
The Church is the household and Jesus is the lord of the house; just as He truly is Lord of Heaven & earth. The servants are all of us; the members of His Church. We are to do the work of His Church while we sojourn here on earth; being watchful and alert to His second coming. The gatekeeper Jesus refers to is our own souls, helping us to be prepared and not fall asleep as we await the Master’s coming(His second coming). In this Gospel Jesus is preparing us for His second coming by foretelling of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple; an event that did occur around the year 70 A.D.
How does the Master want us to prepare in this first week of Advent? What can we do today, and in the next few days to be alert; to watch? Our first opportunity is right here among us today as we celebrate Mass using the new Roman Missal. Did we come fully prepared today to worship Him prayerfully using the new prayers and texts? If we find ourselves under prepared, we have an entire week before we return next Sunday so spend some time praying with these new responses this week. Do we stay alert and watchful by keeping our focus on Advent, realizing that Christmas is a holy season yet to come, not the ho-ho holidays already here; as the world tries to convince us. Does our family celebrate with an Advent wreath in our homes? You can purchase one right here today in Church. What a wonderful reminder of the season of Advent and help support our ministries of charity at the same time. And finally, can we remain alert and watchful by doing something tangible for our brother and sister? Our coat drive remains in full swing but our November days have been unseasonably warm. We could use more coats for both adults and children. The weather is turning colder this very week ahead of us. In the spirit of Advent and in the spirit of being good servants and gatekeepers, drop off one coat for one brother or sister this week!
Waiting and watching; more than beautiful lyrics, more than what we do at a special event. Waiting and watching for the return of our Master, our Lord, Jesus Himself will help us to be prepared; to be ready for His coming at Christmas and His coming again!
Hurry up and wait; and Watch!
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