ADVENT SUNDAY ONE: STAY AWAKE - SPIRITUAL WHITESPACE

ADVENT SUNDAY ONE YEAR A STAY AWAKE - SPIRITUAL WHITESPACE Matthew 24: 37-44 The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect

The wind at dawn has secrets to whisper, do not go back to sleep! RUMI

Is it too late? Are we proclaiming the gospel to a few close friends, while the rest of the world queues up to buy the latest I-Phone?

But I deserve it, it is my freedom, and it is my dream to live! This first little step and I have walked freely into my own illusion. Here in my comfortable slumber, there is no thought of poverty, hunger, sickness, death, or the pornography of war; these are all a click away in another world. No, no such morbid thoughts for me!

And so, the years flow together, with all the many preparations that occupy us, preparations for holidays, preparations for celebrations, preparations for the next contest, the next pageant, the next project, the next purchase, busy, busy, and busy with so many things…

These also merge as the years pass, until all we have time and strength only for the preparations for this day. Yet for many the preparations of this day will not be fulfilled. As you read this short reflection, 750 people will die.

One day this will also be our day to die, and for someone it is today. For all too many of us, even for those who are elderly or sickly, the moment of death will come suddenly, will come unexpectedly and will find us unprepared; will find us clutching and grasping at all those people and things that we must leave behind. All our pride, all our prestige, all our wealth, all those honours we have hoarded, all the promises of eternal love, all we will have to lay aside.

The gospel is ever fruitful and will find its place to grow. This Advent is a time to breathe, a time to put aside our grievance, a time to let go, and a time to prepare.

This preparation calls on us to spend regular time in quiet and solitude. When we are quiet and by ourselves, the deepest thoughts and questions in our mind can surface so you can wrestle with them in prayer with God.

Let us become aware of God’s Love admonitions to us in our daily life, that constant presence in the many ways that communicates with us. Let us awaken our senses to the awareness of God. When we do, our soul will become refreshed and our life will constantly grow.

As we awaken to all these things in our lives, let us now make our own preparations so that the final moment of goodbye will not catch us unprepared. Fully awake and fully alive, now is the time to acknowledge the important people in your life, to remember each and every treasured moment, ask for forgiveness and to let go of grievances, to express our gratitude for the love and care we have received, and to affirm our love.

This is not a composition for sickness and approaching death, it is a note for now in the melody of our life.