Why we have to be prepared!

 Today is the 1st Sunday of Advent and we are advised to prepare ourselves for the final coming of the Son of Man, although we know not when that day would come.  You can find this Gospel reading in Matt. 24:37-44.

37 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 must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

For those who already have a life or accident insurance, I’m sure that you must have heard of the word “Actuary”. An actuary is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty. They evaluate the likelihoods of events, lifestyles, age and even the DNA of persons who wish to get a life or accident insurance and based on their actuarial studies, the insurance companies would be able to determine how high or low a risk you are to the insurance company and would be able to determine how much you need to pay annually for your life or accident insurance plan.

But if you asked an actuary whether they would insure you knowing that the world would end within the year, I’m sure they would not dare make out that insurance policy simply because no one knows when the end of the world would really come. As all Christians know that the second coming of the Son of Man could never be predicted by anyone, not even the pope himself! This is why the Lord pointed out clearly in Matt. 24:44 “So too, you must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Since no one knows when the Son of Man will come, which also means that it is the end of the world, humans (as prophesied by our Lord Jesus in today’s Gospel) would still be marrying or giving into marriage and enjoying food and drinks when that day would come. While we can get insurance for ourselves, (which would certainly come in handy when we die in order that those whom we left behind can still have some money to tide things over) the only insurance we can get for our souls is to seek the sacrament of reconciliation every time we commit sin so we can prepare our souls to finally meet our maker.

But what about those people who do not believe in insurance or worse —who do not believe in the afterlife? All I can say is; I’m sorry for the family of that person.  Early in life, I already learned the most important motto in life and that’s the Scout’s motto, which I’m sure many of you already know by heart and that is “Be Prepared!” That motto can point to anything, like getting yourself prepared before you go camping, making sure all the provisions you need are with you. It could also mean, going to confession before receiving Holy Communion to prepare and cleanse our souls.

This Gospel reading brings us back to ancient times in the days of Noah and the great flood. I’m sure everyone knows this biblical story very well. But after the Great Deluge, God gave Noah a covenant. Please open your Bibles to Genesis 9:8-12 so you can read this very interesting passage.

“God said to Noah and his sons, “I am now making my covenant with you and with your descendants and with all living beings— all birds and all animals—everything that came out of the boat with you. With these words I make my covenant with you; I promise that never again will all living beings be destroyed by a flood: never again will flood destroy the earth.

As a sign of this everlasting covenant which I am making with you and with all living beings, I am putting my bow in the clouds. It will be the sign of my covenant with the world. When I cover the sky with clouds and the rainbow appears, I will remember my promise to you and to all animals that a flood will never again destroy all living beings.”

I’m sure that you must have noticed that whenever it stops raining and the sun starts to shine, often before the sun comes out, we’d see a rainbow. That is God’s reminder to us of the promise he made with Noah and all the living creatures he saved in the Ark. While this year, we have experienced a high rainfall due to the effects of Global Warming, which can inundate hundreds of our islands, take heart that the end of the world will indeed come, but not through another flood that would destroy the earth. At least, this is the only thing we can say about the coming of the Son of Man.