1st Sunday of Advent, Year “B” – Mark 13: 33-37 - Reflection: Fr. Chris Heller
There’s a great line at the end of the 1st reading today: we are all the work of God’s hands. It’s Good for us to realize that God HAS shaped & IS continually shaping us, for we are the clay in God’s hands, and God is the potter who shapes us. It’s Good to be in God’s hands.
And now that we’re in Advent, a word which means “the coming: “the coming of Jesus Christ into the world.” Jesus COACHES us in the Gospel to stay awake, alert, alive & aware. Awake for what? Awake because God intends to SHOW us something about ourselves & the world, and if we’re not paying attention we could miss it.
For instance, all of us clay in God’s hands have been called to perform sacred duties: like what? If you’re married, love and care for your spouse. If you’re caring for an infant, change those diapers & warm those bottles. If you’re taking care of older children, transport them all over creation, like mom & dad & pop pop & mimi’s taxicab service!
How are these sacred duties? These are the things God calls us to do while we wait, while we wait for Christmas and the coming of Christ; and also as we wait for the end of human time. So, WE’RE called to care for various people & things, & have definite responsibilities, just like those servants in the Gospel. But I call them SACRED duties for a reason: these are NOT just idle tasks, but God’s callings in my life, where God is working. And that’s 1 important reason WHY it’s KEY to pay attention while doing these things: something might change that requires us to make an ADJUSTMENT or two.
Like, for example, a flat tire on a car. That’s a practical problem that needs to be fixed. But Jesus ALSO in another place talks about salt tasting flat, like LIFE tasting flat. OR when a living & breathing relationship goes FLAT, it needs to be awakened; it needs to be brought back to life, which sometimes having a DATE NIGHT can do!& IF IT’S YOU that’s flat, that’s less than life-like, how can you restore life in YOU? Well, you can let Jesus JUMP-START your weary, dreary, sluggish soul. How?
A few Advent suggestions: you can SLOW DOWN, & stop running at your fever pace.You can breathe more deeply of life. You can become more aware of your surroundings, like look at a candle flame burning; or at a bird landing; or at a flower blooming in autumn. See what’s been in your blind spots. Allow God to come closer to you, so that as God is re-shaping you into someone new, you can give thanks and praise to God for helping you to re-claim your priorities and focus. After all, as my grandparents said, “how can you FOCUS if you’re running around like a chicken whose head has been cut off, & you’re bumping into everything except your priorities?
This can be a DIFFERENT type of Advent for you, IF you allow God to lead you through it; if you let Jesus breathe new life in you so you can catch HIS breath in your soul. God in Jesus wants to be close to you, & intimately involved in your everyday activities. So when you say: “Okay, God: whatever you want from me, I’m going to do it VERY well,” you will be AMAZED how much more ready for Christmas you can be, because being on THE SAME PAGE with Jesus is the BEST WAY to stay awake/alert. Let’s ask Jesus in the Holy Eucharist to help us do our very best to surrender to his love, and to take care of the things that He’s entrusted us with on earth: while we still have time!
