Gospel of Mark, chapter 13:37

We are now in the season of Advent: a time of preparation for the coming of the Lord. The image of the doorman in Mark, chapter 13, watching out for the Lord whenever He might suddenly appear is an image of what we are expected to do all year long but especially during Advent which means ‘coming.’ The doorman keeps watch to welcome the Lord at His coming. So, we also must keep watch and be ready for the Lord when He comes. And, the Lord does not always come in easily recognizable ways. At Bethlehem, the Lord came in the form of a baby, born in a manger, and people did not recognize Him. In the parable of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25) the Lord said He comes to the people in the form of the most needy and disadvantaged of this world. Still, many fail to recognize Him in the needy. True people of faith recognize the Lord and serve Him in the lowly that live in the alleys of society.

Many people view the coming of the Lord as something that will take place at the end times and fail to recognize Him in His day-to-day coming. The reality is that Christ comes into our lives in the form of ordinary people and ordinary events in our everyday lives. This is what we need to be watchful about; to see Christ in these commonplace and routine encounters of each day. This is what Theologians call the grace of the present moment; the ability to recognize the coming of Christ in the ‘now,’ in ordinary happenings, in ordinary people, but especially in the needy for whatever we do to the least among us we do to Christ.

Open your eyes then to see Christ present and active in your life and in your world. Open your heart and your home to the Lord who comes to you in the form of the poor man and poor woman. This is what it means to prepare for the coming of the Lord during Advent.

Fr. Hugh Duffy