Remain faithful First Sunday of Advent: Mk 13:33-37
33 “Be on watch, be alert, for you do not know when the time will come. 34 It will be like a man who goes away from home on a trip and leaves his servants in charge, after giving to each one his own work to do and after telling the doorkeeper to keep watch. 35 Watch, then, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming – it might be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or at sunrise. 36 If he comes suddenly, he must not find you asleep. 37 What I say to you, then, I say to all: Watch!”
We start our preparation for this great season of Advent not with Jesus’s birth but by looking forward, to our Lord’s Second Coming.
In the preceding verses of Mark 13, Jesus teaches important truths about what will happen before he returns to earth at the end of history. While we are given some clues about what will unfold, it is clear that Jesus wants to divert our attention from fruitless and divisive speculation about dates towards faithful service.
So Jesus concludes this teaching on his Second Coming with these few verses focusing on the need to stay alert and remain faithful to the task he has given us. Jesus uses the parable of a master leaving his servants to do their duties while he goes on a journey to help us understand this point. No one knows exactly when the master will return.
MEDITATIO
What is the main message of today’s parable? Is it that Jesus expects to find us doing the work he asked us to do when he returns?
In the parable each of the servants had been given “his own work to do” (verse 34). What “work” has Jesus given to all Christians to do? What things has he given you to do personally?
Consider what can happen when debating with other Christians about when Jesus will return. Compare this to our responsibility towards our fellow servants in Jesus’s parable. Which is more constructive?
Mark 13 reminds us this world will one day come to an end. Are we spending too much time investing in temporary things?
ORATIO
Praise God: one day Jesus will return again in great power and glory and the end of history lies under his direct control.
Pray for those who haven’t accepted God’s forgiveness yet. Pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus to them and they will respond to his grace and mercy.
Ask God to give you the grace and strength you need to serve him and do his will. Pray that God will keep you from becoming weary or discouraged.
CONTEMPLATIO
The two additional readings from today’s liturgy come from Isaiah and Corinthians. The first, from Isaiah 63 and 64, is a passionate plea of confession to restore a broken relationship with God. Despite knowing God’s special love and faithfulness, the children of Israel repeatedly went astray. We can all identify with them at different times in our lives. The reason Jesus came to earth was to provide a way back. Repentance restores our relationship with God. Praise God!
1 Corinthians 1:3-9 offers us such encouragement. It reminds us we’re not left alone to try and live the Christian life on our own. We can draw on the spiritual riches we have been given in Christ. Jesus is at work in our lives to help us remain faithful until the day he returns again.
Lectio Divina is an ancient tradition of reading and engaging with God’s Word
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