First Sunday of Advent B3

 First Sunday of Advent B3

There once was a king who loved to eat. When the castle cook grew too old to prepare the meals anymore, the king looked for a new cook. A young man applied for the job. The king said to him, "I want you to cook me the best and most important dish in the whole world." The night the king sat down at the table. When he looked at the special dish, he exclaimed, "Why, that’s cow tongue!"

The young man answered, "Yes, it is. Nothing is more important then the tongue if it is used correctly. The tongue is used to teach, to explain, to command, to defend, to calm. Tongues are used to sing to babies and to make bargains. Tongue has to be the most important thing for a king."

"I must say I didn’t realize that, young man. You’ve opened my eyes. Therefore, tomorrow night, I want you to fix me the worst dish you know." The next night, the young man served the king cow tongue. The king said, "What goes on here? Last night, tongue was the best dish in the world. Tonight it’s the worst. How can this be?"

"The difference is what you do with it, sir," said the young man. "Tongues make gossip, stir up trouble, and tell lies. Tongues are cruel and hypocritical. Therefore, tongue can be the worst dish in the world." "Yes, I see. I also see that I need your wisdom in my court. I’ll get someone else to do the cooking."

Being awake literally means that we take care of ourselves through the five external senses, hearing, seeing, tasting, touch, smelling. We often falter in their use. Either we use them for our own pleasure or we use them to target someone who is against us. Our sins often are committed through our five senses in the first place, and then we commit them in our heart. If we can apply the wisdom of this little story to all the senses and to our entire being, I am sure we would be doing the right thing expecting our Saviour in our hearts for Christmas.

Today's readings touch upon a number of spiritual issues. They reveal to us that God is faithful, His Word being unchanging. They teach us the end result of righteousness. They tell us that although we presently dwell in our present sinful physical bodies that seek to oppose what is spiritual, we can still be blameless before God on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. These are all very powerful statements that deserve to be reviewed so that they may be understood.

But for those who turn their hearts away from the Lord, God treats them as children, disciplining them as a loving Father. Allowing all to enjoy their free will, the Lord permits them for some time to stray away from His ways, hardening their hearts so that they do not fear Him.​

When some deliberately turn to sin, the Lord is angry. He hides Himself from them because they are like filthy cloths. Like a leaf, the sinners are taken away by the wind to fade away at a distance. Having turned from the ways of the Lord, no longer calling on His Holy Name, the sinners are left to their own iniquities.

Jesus said to keep awake, in the evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrow, or at dawn. By this, He meant to be spiritually active and consistent. Do not take a break in your spiritual lives to relapse into sin. For that sinful moment may be the moment when you will be called and judged according to the actions of your heart at the moment of physical death.​

Consider it similar to when we buy a house and have to make monthly payments. What happens if we miss a monthly payment? We lose our house! In His infinite grace, God patiently awaits for all to live according to His Holy ways, not suddenly calling everyone who misses on a payment. If He did so, He would not have any children left because we are all sinners, weak in the human nature.

Keep awake, means that we become conscious of ourselves. We need from time to time remind ourselves of the dangers that are around us. Just things happen. Someone dies of road accident, perhaps he/she never thought of it. Keeping awake in these times of uncertainty is necessary.

So often when we hear talk about Christ's coming, it is presented as though it is something to fear. Images of death, guilt and sinfulness leading to the awesome Judgment throne of a righteous God come to mind. Perhaps we very naturally think of it in terms of the days of our life having come to an end and the eternal night about to fall. But Paul's image is reversed. It is not the day that is about over - nor is it the darkness and evil of night that approaches. Rather, it is the night that is about over and the dawn will come with a glorious day ahead. Are we sleeping yet? Let us Wake up - walk with Christ - for the glorious day of the Lord is coming.

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