Isaiah
63:16-17, 64:1.3-8; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37
In a world full of voices we begin with a voice. The voice of Jesus.
He speaks clearly. He speaks at the very beginning of this Liturgical
Year with the beautiful voice of the Teacher, the Guide - the beautiful voice
of one who loves those to whom he is speaking - who loves them enough to give
them a warning.
He does not raise his voice. He knows there is no point shouting. It
will not help. He speaks only as loudly as necessary; confident that those who
wish to hear will do so.
He speaks with the assurance of one who knows what he’s speaking about.
There is no uncertainty. He is not sharing an opinion. He is speaking the
utterly simple and absolute truth.
He speaks with the voice of a prophet. He is not interested in whether
we agree with him or not. He is interested in telling us the truth - without
any concessions to our feelings - or to our possible discomfort. He knows
that what he is telling us is ‘bigger’ than we are - more important than we are
- because it is God’s word.
What he says comes from his Father and it can save us; it is a ‘saving
word’. But he also knows that this truth can condemn us. It has
an expiration date.
And finally, before we go on to listen to this voice let us be clear
about one thing - He is speaking to everyone - to his disciples, to us - and to
you - whether you believe in him or not. ‘And what I say to you I say
to all ...’
And so, what is he saying? What is his message?
It is terribly simple. ‘Be on your guard - stay awake - the Master
of the house is coming back - you do not know the hour - he must not find you
asleep - stay awake.’
Firstly, four times Jesus tells us to ‘stay awake’. What does this
mean? Go without sleep? No. Don’t be a literalist! He means, ‘Don’t forget me while I’m
gone.’
The reading from the Divine Office last Wednesday was from a sermon
attributed to St Macarius. There he tells us of what God allowed to happen to Jerusalem
who did not stay awake, who ‘forgot’
him: ... he delivered Jerusalem to the enemy, and they were conquered by those
who hated them. What an awful fate - to be conquered by those who hate you!
St Macarius also describes what happens to a soul who ‘forgets’
God: God handed it over to its enemies, who corrupted and totally
dishonoured it. When a house has no master living in it, it becomes dark, vile
and contemptible, choked with filth and disgusting refuse. So too is a soul
which has lost its master ...This soul is darkened with sin, its desires are
degraded, and it knows nothing but shame ... Woe to the path that is not walked
on ... for then it becomes the haunt of wild animals.
That’s what it means to stay awake. It means to never forget that
Christ is the Master of the house of our soul and always to behave as though he
were still present, until the unexpected day of his return.
Let me give you a practical application of this principle. Parents
who keep in touch with the children who leave home, who visit them often, and
make regular phone calls and invite them back home regularly for celebrations,
and so on. These are parents who are awake to what their child is up to. Where their
child ‘is at’. They have a relationship with their child which is ‘awake’ and
they are making certain that their child does not forget ‘their face’ either.
Secondly, three times Jesus makes it clear that we do not know the time
of his return. This is an important element of his message. ‘You never
know’ ... Again, it’s an alertness, a wakefulness, a readiness that is
required. The only thing any of us can be certain of is that his return will
be unexpected.
Once more let me give you a practical application of this principle. I
heard someone say they will make their peace with God, ‘when the end comes’. This,
if I may say so is stupidly dangerous! How often have I not seen cases where
people who have said precisely this have been taken unawares - a heart attack,
a stroke, an accident.
These gamblers with eternal life are in fearfully great danger because
they seem to believe that they can find salvation while ignoring the voice of
the Saviour. They are like those who ignore the tirelessly repeated warnings of
Jesus about the reality of eternal loss in hell and console themselves with
interpretations which cannot stand up in the court of Scripture and Tradition.
The question facing us this
Advent is simple. In this world full of voices which voice do we believe, and
to which voice shall we commit our lives?
