1st Sunday of Advent: Keep awake

Advent begins today on this 1st Sunday of Advent.

The Advent story starts in darkness, with people who struggle in a world gone wrong and long to see a glimmer of hope. If all’s well for you today, thank God for that! But someone near you or far away is feeling a depth of darkness.

Sometimes we are in darkness, or alongside others in their darkness, desperate for God to do something to put things right, crying to God with Isaiah,

“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down” (Is. 64:1).

Advent is about the coming of Christ. Christ’s coming is the answer to each prayer cried in darkness. That cry was answered in Jesus’ first coming, the Light of the world breaking into human life as one of us, to share our darkness, to bring us to light and life. Advent also looks forward to when Christ comes again in light and glory.

In the meantime, in the gospels, Jesus urges us to, “Keep awake”. In Mark 13: 24 – 37, Jesus uses the image of a doorkeeper who must stay awake, ready for the house-owner’s coming at any unknown time. We ‘keep awake’ when we choose what’s life-giving instead of what’s comfortable. We keep awake when we don’t let fear control how we live, when we refuse to see darkness or death as the final reality. We keep awake by using the light placed within us, the light of Christ that can never be put out. We keep awake when we listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and follow Jesus’ way.

A monk of the ancient east once asked his superior, “Abbot, what has God’s wisdom taught you? Did you become divine?” “Not at all”, the abbot replied. “Did you become a saint?” “No, as you can clearly see”. The monk asked, “What then, O Abbot?” The Abbot replied, “I became awake!”

In Advent, Christians are counting down to the celebration of Christmas, the feast of the Incarnation, God with us. As well as celebrating a past event, it points to Christ's coming every day, popping up in unexpected places and people if we are awake enough to recognize him. St Augustine said:

"It is by design that Jesus hid the last day from us 

- so that we'd be on the lookout for him every day of our lives."

Image Credit: Liturgy Tools