Mt 24:37-44
Is 2:1-5
Rom 13:11-14
focus: The Lord is coming.
function: We are called to be vigilant and prepared.
During their training future airline pilots have to go through practices involving simulators and simulation exercises. One reports: “I had never piloted a plane in my life. So, I was nervous when I took control of a commercial jet in Miami and prepared to fly it to Washington, D.C. The trip was far more eventful than I or my experienced copilot had anticipated. One engine burst into flames. A fuel line sprang a leak. And the plane’s rudder kept sticking.
But the biggest problem came when we prepared to touch down for our landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. All of a sudden it became obvious that the runway was coming up at too steep an angle. Bam! We hit the runway hard, bounced up, came down and hit it again. My copilot shouted at me to hold on. Then he hit the brakes hard and we came to a screeching halt, just a few feet from disaster.
My heart was pounding. But then I began to relax. I remembered that we had never left Miami. We were in a flight simulator. The experience was so vivid and real that it took me several minutes to get myself back together again.”
Simulators and simulation exercises play an important role in modern life. For example, hospitals simulate disasters to see how doctors, nurses, and equipment react to an overload of patients. Schools simulate fires to find the fastest way to evacuate the students. They all want to be prepared in case of an emergency.
In today’s gospel, Jesus also speaks about preparedness. The Son of Man is going to come suddenly—like the flood in the days of Noah, or like a thief at night. We don’t know the day or the hour of this coming and, therefore, need to be ready always.
The parable that follows in Matthew’s gospel after today’s text, namely that of the faithful or unfaithful servant, gives us a clueas to what this preparedness means. Like the good servant, who distributes to his fellow servants their food allowance at the proper time, so must we live a good and upright life. Then we are ready for the day and the hour of the Lord’s arrival, which, for most of us probably coincides with the hour of our death.
Today’s second reading provides further interpretation. In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul says, “Let us throw off the works of darkness.” He calls upon us to examine ourselves and try to see where works of darkness have found their way into our lives. St. Paul’s message, however, doesn’t stop with moral conversion. “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” he says. Let your lives be shaped by the person of Jesus and let your lives be conformed to his.
We stand at the beginning of Advent. Advent is a time of waiting for the arrival of Christ. St. Cyril of Alexandria, in the 5th century, spoke a out the threefold arrival of Christ. Christ arrived in his birth 2000 years ago. With him the great prophecies, like the one by Isaiah that we heard today, have begun to become true. He instructs us in his ways! He IS our peace! He has brought us light and hope! That’s what the Advent candles symbolize. However, we still await his second coming when the fulfillment will be complete. And we wait for his arrival in our own hearts.
My sisters and brothers, the Lord is coming. We are called to be prepared and ready. It isn’t easy in our day and age to live the season of Advent as a time of waiting. Too many bargains attract us at the shopping malls or online; and it makes sense to take advantage of them. Too many gifts for loved ones need to be selected, too many decorations need to go up, too many letters need to be written; these are good things to do. And yet, we would do well to take a quiet hour on occasion during these days, to read some of the Advent liturgy’s Scripture texts, especially the prophets,and to ask ourselves: What do I wait for? What do I long for? For myself—is it total security and being accepted? For our country and our world—is it peace, swords beaten into plowshares, respect for all human life, safety for immigrants? These hopes and longings then we may hold out in prayer to God who alone can fulfill our deepest longings.
The great 11th century theologian, St. Anselm of Canterbury, described Advent waiting for God in this way: “Escape from your everyday busyness for a short while. Be less concerned about your tasks and labors. Make a little time for God and rest a while in Him. … Say [to God] with your whole heart: I seek your face; your face, Lord, I desire.” Such quiet hours prepare us and assist us in letting the light of Christ, the light of the advent candles grow stronger in our hearts and through us in our world. AMEN.
~Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB