FIRST WEEK OF ADVENTTime is life; wasting time is Wasting LifeIsaiah 63:16-17, 64:1, 3-8
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:33-37
Dear friends in Christ Jesus! How are you all? Today we begin the first week of advent. Advent is a time for all of us to do some charitable activities in view of receiving the baby Jesus into our families and to celebrate the joyful feast of Christmas.
In this connection Jesus calls each one of us to reflect how we use our own time? Dear friends what is precious in this world? Is it Gold, silver, dollar, Euro, etc. NOTHING IS PRECIOUS EXCEPT TIME. Time alone is very very precious because the value of gold, dollar, euro, change every day but the time changes every second of your life. Dear friends, time is compared to our life. If you waste time; you waste your life.
We have begun the mass at 6 o’clock now the time is 6.30. The time 6 o’clock will not come again in our life. For example you imagine that you are very good person, you have lots of ideas for your future. You wanted to achieve many more things before you die. But that very night God comes and tells that you are going to live only five years. After five years you will be dead. After hearing this how will you feel? You may plan out very fast how achieve your goal. But on the contrary if you spend your time in eating, sleeping, and drinking without accomplishing your dream automatically you waste your time. So when you waste your time you waste your life. So time is equal to life.
So how do we make use of our own time? The psalmist says in the bible that “I trust in you, LORD. I say, “You are my God. My times are in your hands. Deliver me from the hands of my enemies and persecutors” Psalm 31:14-15. Our times are with God so God has given each one of us some kind of responsibilities to accomplish before our time finishes. Also St. Paul in his letter to Colossians says that “Behave wisely toward outsiders, making the best use of your time” 4:5. So dear friends Jesus is inviting each one of us to make best use of our own time.
Last year I went for a holidays from our mission Africa. As I got down from the flight I took the bus to go to my house. In the bus there was a gentle man sitting next to me and reading the newspaper. Since I was tired of travelling I wanted to sleep. So I switched off my mobile phone and began to sleep. The gentle man one who was sitting next to me asked “sir what is the time now?” I said it is 6.30 and closed my eyes to sleep. Again After some time he woke me up and asked the time I said it is 6.50 again I slept. After little while again this man asked the time now I was getting angry and I said the time is 7.30 and I said please do not disturb me and I began to sleep. After two hours again this man woke me and asked the time. Dear friends just imagine my situation. Time is precious and I wanted to sleep but his man disturbed me a lot. I was not able to sleep. Today Jesus is asking each one of us to be awake and watch. Why Jesus asked us to awake and watch?
Dear friends in the bible we find more than 307 questions and people asked 183 questions to Jesus. Among all the questions there are three major questions and that are very personal to Jesus. Do you know what they are?
Just before the passion of Christ Jesus takes his disciples to the garden of gethsemane and asked very important question to disciples and all three synoptic gospel present this question. Jesus said to his disciples “I am deeply grieved even to death; remain here and stay awake with me”; but what happened the disciples began to sleep. Jesus comes again and asks them “could you not stay awake with me one hour?” even after hearing this the disciples began to sleep. Again in third time Jesus asks them” are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Mt 26:45. Dear friends now tell me why did Jesus askes his disciples to be awake?
Firstly Jesus knew that he is going to undergo the physical suffering of carrying the heavy cross and he will be crucified in few hours. Thus Jesus himself says that disciples “I am deeply grieved even to death; remain here and stay awake with me” so among the disciples he chooses his close friends James, john and peter so that even other disciples sleep in this night at least his close friends will be with him in time of sufferings to give comfort and consolation. So Jesus asks them to be awake and pray.
Secondly Jesus asks them to awake so that they may not fall into temptations and trails.
Dear friends as we saw time is very precious. In this precious time we need to perform our own God given responsibilities. To perform the responsibilities we need to be awake and watchful of our own time. Also the readings of today insists us to be awake.
Why we need to be awake?
01. Time (Life) is limited
Everyone in this world gets the same amount of time in each day. And this time is limited. We cannot add or reduce our time. Therefore it is important to make use of our own time. In the same way our life on this earth is also limited. We cannot add a day or a month in our life. “You cannot add single hour to your span of your life” Lk 12:25. So we must understand that our life is limited on this earth. In this limited hour we need to fulfil our own God given responsibilities. To accomplish our earthily task. So we need to be awake.
02. Time (Life) is Precious
When we say time is precious that means time is valuable. When it is valuable we should not waste it. and the past time or wasted time will not come back into our life; in the same way our life is also precious and valuable in God’s sight. The prophet Isaiah says that “you are precious in my eyes” Is 43:4. Because God has created each one of us in his own image and likeness. And all of us have the same resemblance of Jesus. And the first reading also we read that “O Lord you are our Father; we are the clay and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” Is 64:8 Therefore our life is precious and have the image of God within us thus and we need to be awake and take care of ourselves.
03. Time helps to achieve our goal
Time helps to plan our work. When we start working according to our plan we reach success and attain our goal. In the gospel of Lk 14:28 we read that “which of you, desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost whether he has enough to complete it within the prescribed time? Hence with aim of attaining our goal we wait for the time. Students wait for a year to get their successful result. Every mother waits for 10 months to get beautiful child. So, waiting with vision brings success in our life.
Why do we stay awake or keep alert?
When we Stay awake and pray we will not enter into temptations. Mt 26: 41.
We need to be watchful because the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion to seek someone to devour. 1 Pet 5:8
When we Stay awake and pray we will not enter into trails and difficulties. Mk 14:38
When we stay awake no thieves will enter into our house. Mt 24:43
When the five wise virgins stayed awake they found the bridegroom and entered the wedding feast. Mt 25:10
Israelites waited for forty years to see the Promised Land. Ex 16:35
So dear friends through the readings we the Christians are asked to wait during this time of advent. As we know that the time is a precious gift and it is like our own life. Let us not waste our own time rather let us be keep alert and awake to see the baby Jesus in the crib on the day of Christmas.
|
