Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent comes from the Latin word Adventus which means “coming”. It is the time when Christians prepare for the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our gospel today teaches us one very basic lesson in life that we should all prepare for any eventuality. Now, isn’t “Be Prepared” the Boy’s Scout’s motto? In short we should always prepare for the worst. This comes from Matt.24:37-44.
“[Jesus said to his disciples,] 37 “For 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 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 no 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.”
This teaching is more like a prophesy by our Lord; however, this was 2,000 years ago. It’s more than obvious to us that the Son of Man hasn’t returned yet because we are still alive today. But certainly there have been so many natural disasters in the last millennia that has been recorded in human history. Just to name a few; in 1556 in Shangxi, China, 830,000 were killed in an earthquake. In 1815, Indonesian volcano, Mount Tambora on Sumbawa Island erupted and took 100,000 lives, while another 82,000 people died due to the famine and disease that followed.
More recently is the great tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean on Dec.26, 2004 killed 226,566 people from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. It was like the way our Lord said, “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.” We all saw those graphic video images of how unprepared were the people when the tsunami struck Aceh, Indonesia or in India. While the casualties were already high, it could have been worse if it happened in the night time. Yet the end of the world hasn’t yet come?
Then there were other kinds of disasters like famine or plague. In 1347-1350, the so-called “Black Death” a.k.a. Bubonic plague (carried by rats) killed some 25 million people in Europe, approximately 30% of the population of Europe at that time. The people who were caught in those natural disasters probably thought that the end of the world had come. But we are still very much around today; however, the warnings of our Lord is still very relevant that we must all be vigilant.
According to Bible exegetes, gospel scenarios are not really predictions of the end of the world. But in a sense, these are taken as warnings for our eternal vigilance. As our Lord rightly pointed out, “If the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and no let his house be broken into.” These are wise words indeed. Many residences hire blue guards to watch over their properties because they do not know when the thief would strike. If we only had the ability to predict, then we wouldn’t need the services of blue guards, right?
You may want to ask, why is it that the Liturgy prior to Advent talks about the crucifixion and death of our Lord and his resurrection as we heard two Sundays ago? Today, as we start the new Liturgical year, we also look forward to the days when the Son of Man will come in his glory. It is called Parousia. Actually, we should prepare ourselves, not just for the coming celebration of the Nativity of Christ, but also his coming glory in his resurrection. Of course, this means that we just cannot skip his passion and death narrative. All this comes together and the only time we can savor the glory of Christ is after we commemorate his passion and his death on the cross, without which, there could never be a resurrection.
How do we prepare for Advent? This should bring you the story of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary looking for a place to stay in Bethlehem. As the story goes, there was no inn available for them. Which is why Mama Mary gave birth to our Lord Jesus Christ in a cave.
So, “Do we have room for our Lord Jesus Christ within our hearts or do we reject him just like the innkeepers rejected St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary?” If you haven’t allowed Jesus to enter your heart and fill you with his loving presence, it is not too late for you for the Lord always waits for your to welcome him. Remember what St. Augustine said, “The God who created you without you, cannot save you without you!” Let Jesus then increase within our hearts.