November 30, 2025: First Sunday of Advent
Matthew 24: 36-44
Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years of ministry as a hospital chaplain, it is that life is unpredictable. In reality, we never know what’s going to happen from one day to the next, though we like to pretend that our lives are manageable and under our control. Day in day out, we undergo the same routines, secure in the knowledge that we are the masters and mistresses of our fates, and that nothing happens unless we will it to.
But today Jesus is telling us something a little different. He is suggesting that our lives are NOT under our control, and that indeed, we must be ever ready for God’s perfect timing when Jesus will come into our lives. Jesus’ arrival is not something within our power to manage, but the coming of Jesus is not a capricious event, either. God needs no justification for God’s timing, for it is always perfect. God knows our hearts, and knows what we need even before we do.
How does Jesus come to us? Jesus makes himself known to us in the greeting of a friend, or in the experience of the joy we feel in receiving some good news. Jesus comes to us whenever we are the recipient’s of another’s kindness or generosity of spirit. Jesus heralds his arrival in the healing of our hearts, and in our ability to extend forgiveness to those who have hurt us.
But lest we become complacent, Jesus is encouraging ACTIVE waiting; he wants us to be on guard for his coming. Many of us sleep walk through life, barely attentive to the stirrings of our spirits or the ways God speaks to us. Advent is a time to wake up, watch and listen, so we can be ready when God knocks on the doors of our hearts.