Anticipation

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, December 3rd, 2023:
First Sunday of Advent

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Mark
13.33-37 ​

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.

“It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with a particular task, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake — for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.

“And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

What’s keeping you awake at night? Sometimes I lie awake because I’m worried. Sometimes I lie awake because I’m excited. In both cases, I’m awake because I’m anticipating something – whether I’m looking forward to it or dreading it depends on what it is. 

Has there ever been a time in your life when you’ve looked forward to something good for days – weeks, even – but when it finally happens, it’s not all you’d imagined it would be? 

It’s a common experience. There you are: bobbing through the days like a balloon filled with the merry air of anticipation and then, suddenly, the moment arrives! You stop to take it in. You look around. You notice a disconnect between the way you’d imagined things would be and the way they actually are – and you spring a slow leak. Psssssss goes the air of anticipation as you begin to deflate. Eventually, you sigh out the last bit of air – you’ve returned to your normal size, feet firmly planted on the ground. Well, that’s that then.

In the Gospel for this Sunday, the master of the house has been on a journey and is approaching his home at long last. Safe to say, he’s looking forward to a warm greeting, a nourishing meal, and a soft bed. Imagine his disappointment at finding the household asleep and nothing prepared.

The Mass readings for Advent are a salve for those times when our hopes are disappointed. Week after week, Jesus reassures us: Trust in me! I am preparing a place for you in heaven, and that Kingdom is coming – I promise you. Your hopes will be realized – and so much more. In fact, you cannot even imagine what’s in store for you. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9).

Isn’t this the perfect Advent message? It says,

(A) You are not forsaken. I am coming for you. Let there be no doubt. These are my words, and they “will not pass away” (Luke 21:33).
(B) When I come, “there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things will be gone forever” (Rev. 21:4).
(C) This promise is not a worldly promise; it will not disappoint. “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

When Jesus said, “Keep awake,” He was not calling us to passive observance of a duty, to a sleepy attitude followed by a scramble to prepare for the master at the last minute. He was inviting us to active engagement, to building true readiness based on His promises. “[T]he kingdom is near,” so let’s prepare this Advent! Let us abound in hope, fill ourselves with the merry air of anticipation, draw close to the Lord, and know, without a doubt, that our hope in Him will be more than satisfied. 




Donna Davis

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