Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
We are now in the new liturgical year and it begins with Advent. The new year begins with the admonition to ‘Stay awake’. It is apt for us to hear this as it is during this time that most of the world is preparing to celebrate Christmas with the usual gaiety. There will be much preparation for the feasting, for the celebrations and for the usual rituals that are followed by most peoples.
So stay awake to what is essential to the celebration of the promised made real. What is essential during this time of Advent is what we need to stay awake. Jesus the Gift of our Father is given once again to us who prepare our hearts who want to receive Him.
In today’s reading, St Luke highlighted “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of the daily life.”
Let us be focused, prepare ourselves and trust in the Lord that all things will work out well for those who love God.
Those who love God will obey Jesus’s commandment- Love God and love one another. In today’s second reading, St Paul also encourages us to increase the love for one another, to be blameless in holiness before God our Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Inspite of all the distraction during this season, let us be vigilant at all times and pray that we have the strength to escape the temptation of the worldly influence and know that you have been pruned already by the word of God and we shall rejoice with God in eternity.
By Sharlyn Neo