Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time
The other night, after giving us a particularly hard time with going to bed, our four-year-old and two-year-old had finally gone to sleep. We usually try not to make much noise around the house after that, so they don’t wake back up and interrupt “This is Us” or whatever we happen to be watching. This particular night, I thought I’d grab a snack, so I sat down with a bag of pretzels. I soon realized my mistake; I should have quietly put some in a bowl in the kitchen.
As soon as a I reached my hand into the pretzel bag and produced a slight crinkle sound, one of our tiny humans yelled down the stairs, “DADDY, WHAT ARE YOU EATING?!?!?!?”
I don’t get it. The white noise machine was on and the door was closed over. I have no idea how the sound of the pretzel bag made it all the way up there.
In the Second Reading this week. St. Paul reminds the Thessalonians; “Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober.” Those could very well have been my son’s words to my daughter after we tucked them in. The kids don’t want to miss out. They want to be ready as though one night I’m finally going to answer, “I’m eating pretzels. Why don’t you guys come back down and we’ll get some ice cream out too and watch “Frozen”?!
St. Paul is acknowledging that most people go about their lives “sleeping”, whereas Christians should be living in such a way that they’re “alert”, and ready for Jesus to come; whether at the end of time, at the end of our lives, or all the ways that he comes to us in our daily lives. If we’re “alert”, we’ll notice the people in our lives that need our support and our prayers. We’ll notice opportunities to serve and to sacrifice for others. We’ll spend time praying and going to Mass, trying to get as close to God as we can.
We’ll also avoid sin more and more, trying to grow in virtue. My friend and his brother once told me that when they would fight, their grandmother would ask them, “Is that what you want to be doing when Jesus comes back?” And when we fall, we should get to Confession as soon as we can, so we can start over with that clean slate.
So being vigilant, alert, awake, ready, is a basic part of the Christian life. The Liturgical Year of the Church (beginning with the season of Advent and ending next week on Christ the King) always begins and ends with these reminders. So, over the coming weeks, give this some thought. What areas of your life are you being “alert” and ready to meet Jesus, and where are you “sleeping”? That’s sure to be a helpful reflection.
And remember to be prudent with your late-night snacks, you never know what small children nearby might be taking that idea rather literally.
