A reading from the gospel according to Matthew 24:37-44

37 Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38 In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
39 They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.
42 Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
43 Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.
44 So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Reflection: Stay awake!

Jesus is coming again and He is coming whether we are ready or not. That is why Jesus is using the example of Noah’s time to warn us about our behavior now and what will happen to us in the future. While we still have the time, and that time is now, we must be ready to meet Him when He comes.

What does it mean exactly by being ready? It means to be holy because Jesus is holy and we all know that holiness and sinfulness can not mix. While it is true that as human beings, we always commit sin, it is also true that we can strive with all our might that we can be holy though we are sinners. And here is the application or usefulness of being awake. To be ready means to be awake. It doesn’t mean we don’t sleep. It only means that during our waking hours, we live in the present moment with God. It means that we should always be aware of His presence in our life. It means that in everything we do, whether we work or rest, eat or drink, we give glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31). When we do this, we live in love and continuously ask for His forgiveness for our sins. Moreover, living from moment to moment with full awareness of God’s presence give us the familiarity with Him to the point that we are not afraid to meet Him and instead we have the eagerness to live in His kingdom in eternity.

Therefore, if I am always aware that at any time, Jesus comes and take away my last breath, every moment then is spent in loving God and the people around me. There is no more time to waste in trivial misunderstandings as well as storing grudges in my heart. I learn to let go of everything knowing that my life is short and that I would rather spend every minute to be happy and at peace with everyone. I will now give my best in everything I do and most especially, I now learn to forgive and to give love to others before it is too late. I will now guard heavily my happy and loving moments so that the enemy (the thief) will not spoil my final union with my creator.

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As we approach the season of Christmas and the coming new year, it is high time to take a look at how the year has passed and is passing. Whatever happened or is still happening, we give thanks to the Lord because we are still alive which means we have all the opportunities to make thing right or better. With or without regrets, let us now turn to what is forthcoming and make a fresh start. We may have lost one or two or even more loved ones but the fact that we are left behind means we still have mission to accomplish.

We are surely next in line but the gospel reading above is very clear that we do not know when our time comes or when Jesus comes again and the end of the world as we know it is fully realized. Just like the people who asked John the Baptist, “What shall we do?” (LK 3:10-18), we ask the same question now. What shall we do to prepare for the coming of Jesus into our life? We listen again to John through the gospel. He says that we learn to share our possessions with the needy, to put an end to injustice, to cease accusing others falsely, and to be contented with what we have. In other words, he is exhorting us to repent and start doing good to others. To repent is to make Jesus’ path straight, to remove the garbage, weeds and other unnecessary things that prevent Him from coming into life and helping us grow in faith, hope and love.

May the season of Christmas bring us not only joy but also wisdom so that we may become wiser than before. That whatever mistakes we have done in the year that is about to pass will not be repeated. More importantly, may the Christmas season be also a season of discernment for the will of God to be made clearer to us.