A five-year
old boy walks into his parents’ room to kiss them good night. His dad has just
finished reading his bible. He asked: “Dad, what are you reading?” His dad
replied: “Son, I’m reading the book of Revelation, the last book of the bible.”
“And what’s it about” came another curious question. Dad looks at him and
explains: “It’s about God’s final battle against evil!” Excitedly, the boy sat
beside his dad and inquired: “And who won?” The father stooped down to his boy’s
eye level and informed him: “God won!”
We are
entering a new season and a new year in the Church: the Season of Advent! We begin
a new countdown of Jesus’ historical birth – his first visit on Christmas. But we
know the story; we know the outcome – God won. We are saved! We’re simply
awaiting the final results.
While waiting,
we need these three Christian dispositions:
1.
We wait
patiently
Many times,
waiting becomes tiresome. There are really times waiting becomes necessary: one
waits for traffic to subside; in the airport, you wait for a sister to arrive
with a delayed flight; parents wait for their children to grow up; a mother
waits for a son to give up his addiction. During the wait, we run out of
patience. We even get angry and loose our peace to the point of exasperation
and frustration.
In the First
Reading (Is 63), the prophet expressed the community lament of the exiled Jews
in Babylon. They voice out their regret for being hard headed, for failing to
listen to God and wandered away. Yet they are still hopeful because God is
their father. They implore God to re-work them and make them new as a potter
makes the clay beautiful in his hands.
2.
We wait
lovingly
We wait
actively by doing good continually. Its not a lazy waiting. Early Christians
really thought that Jesus will immediately return during their lifetime. For this
reason, some have abandoned their land and their business in order to lazily
wait for the Parousia. St. Paul had to write the Thessalonians to counter this
slothful attitude by warning them and giving the rule: “those who would not
work should not eat.”
While we await
the return of the Lord, we continue to work and do our duties. We continue our
task of witnessing and striving to make this world a better place. Parents ought
to continue their mission of guiding and caring for their children. Leaders
dedicate their time in service and selflessness.
When the
body of Archbishop Teofilo Camomot was exhumed from his grave in Carcar, Cebu
eyewitnesses claimed that his remains decayed except two parts of his body: his
hands and his heart. After many decades, he has became a pile of dust. But amazingly
his hands and his heart did not rot long after he was buried. It is God’s way
of telling us that in the end, what matters most is our love. What matters most
is not our competence but our character.
3.
We wait
faithfully
Advent challenges us to be faithful.
We need to be watchful for the arrival of the master of the house who is in a
journey. As servants, we need to do the task entrusted to us. We should be like
the gatekeeper continually alert lest the master finds us sleeping.
Through prayer, we remind ourselves
of our purpose and God’s plan for us in this world. We live responsible and
dedicated lives lest we get distracted by the temptations and pleasures of this
passing world. We focus our minds that things are fleeting lest we be overtaken
by a consumerist and profit-driven mindset.
As we begin the season of Advent,
our readings remind us of the good news that God has won the battle for us. We simply
need to wait patiently, lovingly and faithfully. This is how we can be
watchful.
