Stay Awake

03-11-2017. FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (B)

SCRIPTURAL READING:

1. Is. 63:16b-17; 64:1.3b-8.

Ps 80:2ac and 3b.15-16a.18-19 (R.4)

1. 1 Cor. 1:3-9. Accl; Ps. 85:7.
2. Gospel Mk 13:33-37.

Dear friends please repeat these words after me;

Thank you Jesus for your word which I will receive at this hour,

Please Lord, make my heart a fertile soil for the reception of your word today

Holy Spirit, rekindle in me the fire of your love and may God’s word bear fruit in my life. Amen.

TOPIC: STAY AWAKE

The message of today’s Liturgy as we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent is “stay awake”. This means remain alive, to be vigilant, active, conscious, aware of the need to grow spiritually minded, to be spiritually and physically attentive to the malicious tricks of the devil.

It means to “Watch”: since we do not know when the Lord will come, we must be prepared. Vigilance is, above all, love. A person who loves keeps the commandments and looks forward to Christ’s return; for life is a period of hope and waiting. It is the way towards our encounter with Christ the Lord.

The first Christians often tenderly repeated the aspiration: “Come, Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 16:22; Rev. 22:20). By expressing their faith and charity in this way, those Christians found the interior strength and optimism necessary for fulfilling their family and social duties, and interiorly detached themselves from earthly goods, with the self-mastery that came from hope of eternal life.

The first reading taken from the Prophecy of Isaiah presents to us a consciousness in the people which is summed up in the prophets cry to God. It is a consciousness that is brought before the Lord that they have sinned and the hope of seeking their redemption in God.

This is a consciousness we should have this season of Advent. A consciousness of our sins, a cognitive awareness of our nothingness and our total dependence on God who is and should be our only hope, our father and our God.

To have this consciousness we must be eternally vigilant, awake. Been awake means watching to ensure you remain dutiful and responsible in the assignments given. It means watching your attitude and behaviour to ensure that they are pleasing to the Lord. It means watching to ensure you are part of those who will go with the Lord when he returns.

The actual day and hour of the Lord’s return is truly unknown but we must stay ready, to be aware. So we are to give proper attention to our lives this season of Advent if we must celebrate the birth of Christ well.

This attention should not be obstructed in any way. It should be such that we give proper attention to the things we so on a daily basis. Such as, our capacity to listen to others, to our work such that we do so with every dedication and a proper sense of responsibility required, to correct ourselves where we have erred and to tap into our inner strengths and build on them.

Been awake or paying attention means giving primary place to:

To my spiritual growth, to understand, cooperate with and follow the will of God for you, to be faithful to the duties the lord has called you to by using your gifts to serve the Lord, To be attentive to your family, To your parents, To your brothers and sisters, To your teachers, To your companions, To your friends, To your neighbours, To love and esteem yourself, To know yourself, to stretch yourself onward, to be yourself, to be attentive your body, to your feelings, to your time, to your studies, to your work, to care for everyone. In these contains the duties and expectations of every Christian man/woman.

The coming of Christ will be shocking to all. It will be in the middle of activities, such that men and women will be living sensual lives-eating, drinking, marrying, divorcing, and remarrying time after time. The Christian man/woman will also be engaged in his or her own daily activity like study of the word of God, praying, reflecting/meditating, going for confession, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as well as attending mass when the Lord will actually come. It will be a shocking experience. The only reward which the Christian man or woman will have at this time is to remain steadfast in the good things he/she has been doing and these entails staying awake, alert, conscious, and eternally vigilant. This keeping awake is not by preventing yourself from sleeping it means exercising a perfect self-control, self-restraint, and moderation of your habits, attitudes, behaviours, words, and actions (keeping watch of your hands, exercising control over your tongue to prevent it from lies, deception, vulgar languages, boastful, resentful, demeaning, etc) in such a manner that you modify it for the lord’s return. This is possible by a proper examination of conscience and making perfect contrition for the wrongs you have done.

As we prepare ourselves to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord, let us prepare ourselves inwardly to receive him. Let us prepare ourselves to receive him prayerfully, with Godly attitude so that in the end our joy may be full and complete in the Lord when we are truly united with him.

During this period of the season of advent make an attempt to practice the following:

1. Be fervent in prayers. 2. Practice daily meditation e.g. meditating upon the words of Christ, the teachings of the church, the life of saints etc. 3. Spiritual Reading e.g. the life of saints, the teachings of the church etc. 4. Never leave the fellowship of fellow Christians. 5. Attend mass regularly and participate very well at Mass. 6. Go for counselling/confession. 7. Avoid unhealthy conversations. 8. Practice self-re-discovery and mastery over your tongue. 9. Stay around positive minded people. 10. Have short slips of encouraging words and prayers to be said quietly and meditatively as you go about your daily activities. 11. Cultivate the habit of silence and the ability of listening to the lord who speaks to you in the silent recesses of your heart. 12. No matter what comes your way, make up your mind to follow the instructions and directions of the Lord. It requires constantly training the mind, the will not to argue, or been stubborn but to follow the Lord and you can do that by been silent, and cultivating stillness of the mind. It helps you make the decision to follow the Lord. 13. Offer everything about you, your trials, persecution, challenges, frustrations, anxieties, and weaknesses to God.

Prayer:

Keep me, O Lord, focused on your word daily. Keep my attention on you always and remove from me everything that does not give glory to you my Lord and King. Amen.