Be Watchful

It is a dark season. The sun disappears late in the afternoon and even throughout the day, the quality of light is thin and cold. And we have not yet come to the shortest days.
 
In our shared life of faith, it is a season of waiting. We are moving toward a keystone in the Christian year, but first, the waiting is important. And the gathering darkness reminds us of the work to be done.
 
The season begins with just one candle, one small light in the darkness and with a vision of gathering light that lies ahead.
 
The passage from Matthew is troublesome. The idea of a thief in the night taking one and not another is hard for us to grasp. But remember that it is a dark season. And this is a warning to be watchful.
 
This Gospel does not call us to change the kinds of ordinary things we do every day. It does call us to be watchful so that we orient our daily activities to God’s ways. It is in the ordinary that the extraordinary is going to happen. It is our daily activities that the Son of Man is present. We need only to stay awake,to be watchful. Advent is about our coming to God.