Faithfully Watching
“God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.”1 Cor 1:9
Blessed Advent to you! Happy New Year! Advent marks the beginning of a new liturgical year, and the Church reminds us of Jesus’s command to “watch.” For what is it that we are supposed to watch?
In the Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent Jesus told His disciples “Be watchful! Be alert!” In Mark’s Gospel this comes right after Jesus tells His disciples about the persecutions and tribulations that are to come and right before His betrayal. Of the several theories of the dating of Mark, some suggest that Mark’s Gospel was written in the 60’s/70’s AD about 30 years after Jesus’s Ascension and right at the time when the Temple was destroyed and when the Christians were being targeted. So, we can see that Mark is trying to remind the Christians to persevere and to keep watching and keep being faithful even when all seems hopeless and when their fight seems to be a losing battle. So, for the early Christians they were faithfully watching for the Coming of the Lord for some thought that His return was imminent. But what are we, who live nearly 2000 years later after this time, watching for? Are we still watching?
In one sense we are still watching just as the early Christians were — we are watching for the Coming of the Lord for we know neither the day nor the hour, so we must always be ready. But, we are also watching for the Lord in a different way — are we aware of the different ways and the the different people through whom the Lord speaks to us? Do we see Him in the poor? Do we see Him in the needy? Do we see Him in the those whom we do not like? Do we see Him in those who have hurt us? Do we see Him in ourselves?
Many people today question the presence of God. Some as why can’t God show Himself as He did in the past. One reason is that God has already fully revealed Himself in His Son. Jesus Christ is the fullness of revelation. It is not that God does not show Himself, He has already radically drawn close to us by taking on our flesh and remains with us today in a most tangible and substantial way — in the Church, in the sacraments, and most especially in the Eucharist. Jesus is fully present — body, blood, soul, and divinity — in the Most Holy Eucharist, but do we see Him? Do we choose to seek Him out? Do we spend time with Him? St. Paul reminds us that “God is faithful.” God is always faithful to us and His love and mercy never ceases. God is faithful to His promises, and He promises to remain with us. The question is not whether God remains with us, but rather will we choose to remain with Him. God is always waiting for us — in the Eucharist, in the sacraments, in our brothers and sisters. Have we been watching for Him?
Brothers and sisters, this Advent we must make time to watch and wait with our Lord. Yes, we wait faithfully for the Second Coming of Our Lord, but we must never forget that we too are waiting and watching for the coming of Our Lord at this very moment, in the here and now, in the Eucharist, in the Sacraments, and in each one of our brothers and sisters for we bear the image and likeness of God. May the Lord come to find us patiently and faithfully watching, not in idleness but rather in loving service that is rooted in relationship with Him.
