Isaiah 2:1-5 / Romans 13:11-14 / Matthew 24:37-44
Last week was a busy time for our parish.
The feast of Christ the King is also our parish feast day, and prior to that there was the triduum.
So, there was the preparation, and three days of prayer, and then the feast day celebrations.
Yes, we were busy preparing, praying and then celebrating.
And we think that with the feast day over, we can take a break and relax for a while.
But no, there is another up and coming feast to prepare, and that is the celebration of Christmas.
So, it seems like there is no end to the activities and the busyness of life.
There were instances that we have been so busy that we wish we could have more time.
But the irony is that with more time, we may find more things to do and get busier.
On the other hand, with more time, we may end up wasting time and then leave a lot of work undone.
But this is nothing new in the lifestyle of human beings.
In the gospel, Jesus recalls the time in Noah’s day before the flood.
The people then were eating and drinking and busy with the cares of life.
Even when they saw Noah building the ark, they suspected nothing till the flood came and swept all away.
It seems that the people were so busy and interested only in the cares and concerns of life, that they have lost their spiritual sense.
They could not sense the promptings from the Lord.
They could not see the signs from God, nor could they hear what the Lord was saying.
Yes, they suspected nothing, they sensed nothing, until it was too late.
Jesus also gave another example of a householder keeping watch over his house.
That householder would have stayed awake if he had known at what time of the night the burglar would come.
This weekend, we enter into the season of Advent.
The season of Advent calls us to slow down, or even to stop and look at the signs and to sense the promptings from God.
We already noticed the signs of the celebration of Christmas.
But let us enter into the season of Advent, which is a time of quiet, a time of stillness, a time of waiting, a time of praying.
But the season of Advent comes at an inconvenient time, a busy time, a time where there are so many things to do.
But Jesus tells us not to be like the people in Noah’s day when they suspected nothing.
Or what if that householder did not know when the burglar would come.
Whatever it is, the consequences will be terrible, if we see nothing, and know nothing of what the Lord God is showing us and saying to us.
As we begin the season of Advent let us take time to be still and to be quiet.
And let us embark on some spiritual exercises that may not burn calories but will make us ready.
The 2nd reading tells us to arm ourselves and to appear in the light.
And the 1st reading tells us to walk in the light of the Lord.
So, let us begin with walking, which may sound easy, but wait till we hear how we should walk, and we begin with walking away.
At times, walking away has nothing to do with weakness and everything to do with strength.
We walk away not because we want others to see our worth and our value, but because we see our own worth and value in God’s love for us.
We walk away from disputes and quarrels that cannot be resolved without love.
We walk away from pleasing people to pleasing God.
Let us walk away from the busyness of life into the stillness of the light of the Holy Spirit.
And let us walk with the Holy Spirit in this season of Advent to see the signs and the wonders that God is showing us.