BE VIGILANT AT ALL TIMES

BE VIGILANT AT ALL TIMES

Fr. Marcel-Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent

Holy Names of Jesus & Mary Catholic Church

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

November 29, 2009

Ephesians 5:14 “Wake up O sleeper and rise up from the dead, and let the light of Christ shine upon you”

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent marks the beginning of a new liturgical year in the Church. The Catholic Church has her own special liturgical year and calendar; and through this liturgical year and calendar, she presents again the history and unchanging mysteries of our salvation, from Creation to the Second Coming, together with the entire life of our Savior Jesus Christ. The Church’s liturgical year is a year of formation; and like students in school, Christians learn about faith, hope and charity. We learn about God’s will and how to do God’s will. Each Sunday and Feast present a special lesson to us for our daily living.

Advent is a lovely season because it emphasizes the Parousia- the Second Coming of Christ. It reminds us that after sunrise, there will be sunset. With the beginning of the season of Advent, we begin a new liturgical year. The First Sunday of Advent is therefore the Church’s “New Year Day.” Advent begins the Christmas cycle.

The word “Advent” means “arrival” or “coming”. Advent reminds us that the Lord is coming. It means that Jesus Christ, our Brother in our humanity and our God in His divinity will arrive or has arrived. The Lord comes to us in different ways:

• In the whole of Gospel of Luke 2, we were told that Jesus came to us at a specific time in history at Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago. This first coming of Jesus is what we celebrate during Christmas. At this time, he came in humility.
• The Gospel of Matthew 24:29-31, speaks of when the Lord, the Alpha and Omega will come to judge the living and the dead. This time he will come in glory.
• The Lord comes to us in grace. He speaks to us in our consciences. In Rev. 3:20, he says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me.”
• Again, the Lord comes to us in the Eucharist and in the Word of God proclaimed. In the Gospel of John 6:25-59, Jesus tells us that he is the Bread of life. And in Matthew 26:26-29, Jesus established a constant presence with us. “Take and eat…Do this in remembrance of me.”
• Finally, the Lord comes to us in the person of the beggar, the needy, the suffering, and the oppressed. We must be ready to receive and welcome Him when He comes, however he comes. Remember Matthew 25:40 “Whatsoever you do, to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did unto me.”

Advent is a period of great expectation. It is a wonderful expectation of the coming of our Savior and our salvation. If there is no Savior, there will be no salvation. The Savior brings Salvation, and this salvation is for those who are ready to receive it. The salvation is free, but not cheap. Mark it; Salvation is free, but not cheap!

What shall we do then to be part of this salvation and redeemed people? Jesus provides the answer in today’s Gospel reading when he said: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that that will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Brethren, Jesus says, stay awake! You may be asking yourself, what is there to wake up from? What are we to wake up from? The Lord wants us to wake up from the sleep of the soul. The sleep of the soul is the neglect of the things of God; it is the neglect of our spiritual duties; it is the neglect of our state of life; it is the neglect of virtues. Today, let us examine our lives in order to see how prepared we are because we do not know the time or the hour when we will meet our Lord.

Outside the city of Rome is a little Chapel, and the wall of this Chapel is painted a short sentence: “Quo Vadis, Domine?” Which means, “Where are you going Lord”? Now tradition tells us that it was at that point that St. Peter met Jesus when he was running away from the first Roman persecution. While Peter was running away from Rome, he met the Lord going towards Rome, and he asked Jesus “Quo Vadis, Domine?” “Where are you going Lord?” And Jesus replied him, “I am going back to Rome to be crucified again.” Tradition also tells us that Peter realized that Jesus was talking to him, and he retraced his steps and went back to Rome, and from history we know that he was martyred there for his faith.

The question “Quo Vadis” – “where are you going” is today directed to me, to you, and to us as a Church. And this question is a practical question that we should ask ourselves periodically. Roughly we may divide our lives into three categories: our spiritual life, our intellectual life, and our social life. Applying this question to these three phases of our life, our divine Savior asks us today:

• Where are you going spiritually? Do you pray at all? Do you have the habits of praying or do you leave it to your moods? Do you attend Mass on Sundays regularly? Remember that Jesus says in the Gospel of Luke 18:1- “Pray always and do not loose heart.” Again, in Ephesians 6:18, Apostle Paul says, “Keep on praying in the spirit.” Again, remember the solemn promise of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew 7:7- “ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall found, knock and the door will be opened to you.”
• Quo Vadis? Where are you going intellectually? What books and papers and magazines do you read? What occupies your mind? What thoughts are habitually fostered in your mind? May be you read anything, think anything, or may be deliberately choose books that are contrary to Christian morals and faith. What do we usually think about? Do we spend sometime to read the Word of God. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path.” And in John 6:63, Jesus said, “My Words are Spirit and they are life.”
• Quo Vadis? Where are you going socially? Are you a scandal to others? Do you seek the company of those who are going to be an occasion of sin for you? Are you giving too much time to social activities? It is very important to remember always that Romans 14: 17 says, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy which the Holy Spirit gives.” And in verse 18, it says, “And when you serve Christ Jesus in this way, you please God and are approved by others.”

Where are we spiritually, intellectually and socially? The Lord says to us today, ‘Wake up from your spiritual slumber.’ St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 5:14 says, “Wake up O sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and let the light of Christ shine upon you.”

Romans 13:11-12 says “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over, the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”

Some of us are still asleep, although we are walking around. And while in deep slumber, we are overtaken by the deeds of darkness, and driven back to Sodom. Our dreams are all about Egypt. Sleeping Christians believed in past glory. They are completely unaware that our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. But today, Jesus calls us to wake up. He wants us to prove once again that our eyes are open, looking unto heaven, waiting for his Second coming. We should not remain in bed when we wake up. Arise and shine in this crooked and perverse generation.

In the book of Revelation 3:1, the Church in Sardis was described by the Lord as follows, “I know your deeds, you have a reputation of being alive but you are dead.” Divine view is different from human view. No wonder 1 Samuel: 16:7 says: The Lord does not look at the things human being look at. Human beings look at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

THE CHURCH IN SARDIS was deceived by their reputation; she was deceived by human applause, positive assessment and acceptance. When weighed on human scales, they were found perfect. They were justified by men. Whenever they were singing, praying, clapping their hands and probably dancing inside the Church, the onlookers usually nodded their heads in great admiration, saying, “Yes, their Church is alive and marching forward.” In their Church, they prayed like Elijah, danced like David, preached like Paul and Apollos, performed miracles like Elisha, and sang like the angels. People believed they were alive. But weighed spiritually, they were empty. Jesus scanned their hearts and found that what they had was outward show of piety.

Today, our loving Master asks us to wake up from our sleep. He wants us to come down from our bed of sleep. He wants us to hearken to what Prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 2:3 “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths…”

Rev. 3:2 says, Wake up, strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.”

And in 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8, Apostle Paul says, “So then, let us not be like others who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled…putting on faith and love as breastplate, and hope of salvation as helmet.”

But if we don’t do anything concerning our spiritual life and our life generally, we may be found wanting when the Lord comes. And in the Rev. 3:3 he warns: “But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”

Only those who are awake and ready will sing with the Psalmist in Psalm 122: 1, “I rejoice when I heard them say, ‘let us go to God’s house’”.