First Advent

Matthew 24: 39 – 42

Jesus said, “The Son of Man’s Arrival will be like this: Two men will be working in the field – one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill – one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up”.

We knew eventually it would happen again, but we never knew exactly when. When we moved into our house we soon discovered that most of the downstairs on our block would flood whenever the rains fell too quickly – including ours. And so we put everything up on shelves and pallets and prayed for mild weather and light rainfall.

Yet over time we’d tend to forget and we’d “temporarily” leave a box or two on the floor. And one time a friend who was between jobs and between apartments asked if he could leave a “few things” at our house for just a couple of weeks. And though I warned him that we occasionally flooded, he dropped off a large truckload of furniture, including a mattress, bedside cabinet, and velour sofa we eventually discovered was one of the most absorbent items ever produced. Let’s just say my back still aches when I think of hauling that soggy sofa out to the backyard. And I sigh with relief whenever I see the lump in our front lawn where our new flood control system was installed.

So I appreciate Jesus’ reminder to “stay awake!” and be ready for the unexpected. Advent is a time of heightened awareness where we stay alert for “acts of God” in our lives that might just surprise us. After all, the most important events in our lives often happen while we’re busy making other plans.