Watching for signs

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Readings & Summary

The Epistle: James 5:7-9

We must be patient and strong-hearted as we wait for the coming of the Lord.

The Gospel—Mark 13:24-37

Signs in the heavens will foretell the coming of the Son of Man.  No one knows the day or the hour, so we must keep watch.

Reflection

It seems incredible that we begin the Advent Season here in the United States with two mass shootings in the United States, one at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs on November 27, and the second at San Bernardino on December 2.  In the span of six days, 17 people lost their lives.  I’m also reminded of another Advent mass shooting, the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, in which one man killed 28 people, many of them children, before finally killing himself.  I can’t believe that happened almost three years ago.  I could’ve sworn it was last year, or maybe the year before that—so burned it became in my memory.

Jesus in today’s Gospel talks about signs of the End Times.  There are some who point to the current rise in violence and terrorism as other signs of the End.  I don’t subscribe to that belief, but with the shootings here, and the recent attacks in Paris, Lebanon, Nigeria, and others, I have to say there’s a part of me that wishes the End would just come.  In my heart, I don’t think God is finished with us yet.  I still believe that there is more good in the world than bad.  We see it in the ensuing outpouring of support and compassion.  But what do we do when the brutality and the senselessness of these killings is just too overwhelming?

The Gospel cautions us to “watch, keep alert.”  What does that mean?  Are we supposed to sit still, eyes fixed in one direction, just waiting?  I don’t think so.  To do that would mean we’d let most of our lives—and the world—just pass us by.  No, Jesus does not call us to inertia.  I think keeping alert—keeping awake—means being mindful, living in the present, aware of the moment.  It’s also a call to action.  If we accept mass shootings and terrorist attacks as simply the way things are; that there’s nothing we can do about them, or learn from them; or that we’re not part of a system that facilitates violence, then we’re no longer “awake” to the lessons—the signs—they have to teach us.  We become like those who are caught “sleeping” when the Lord comes, caught by surprise when the day of reckoning comes.

Knowing that we can’t right the wrongs of the world by ourselves should not be discouraging.  We’re also called to be patient and strong-hearted.  To do that, we have to realize what’s in our power and what is not.  But if we discern the signs closely enough, I think we’ll all find that there’s more we can do while we wait for justice and redemption.

Questions

These questions are intended for all—people of faith, of a different faith, or even no faith.

Mindfulness and living in the present are central themes in Buddhism.  Knowing what’s in our power and what’s not is the foundation of Stoic philosophy.

How can ideas from other traditions shed insight into our own path?

How can we use that knowledge to bridge the gaps between us? To quell aggression and foster understanding?

The Gospel talks about watching for signs in the heavens.

Do you believe in signs?

What message or meaning do you read behind certain events or occurrences?

Do you take a moment to appreciate the various coincidences or synchronicities you encounter in your life?

Prayer of the Day

Keep us, O Lord our God, we pray you,

ever watchful and eager for the coming of your Son,

so that when he knocks,

he may not find us asleep in our sins,

but watching and rejoicing in his praises;

through the same Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

—Collect #2 for the First Sunday of Advent in the Book of Common Worship (1993)

Waken our hearts, O Lord,

so that we may prepare the way for your only-begotten Son.

Graciously keep us in your service,

and cleanse our hearts for his arrival;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

—Collect for Advent 2 in the Lund Missal, 1514; ultimately from the Collect for the “Sunday before Advent” in the 5^th-century Gelasian Sacramentary

Hymn: “Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding”, Latin traditional, 5th-century

Worship song: “You'll come”, Hillsong