Watch!

Mark 13:33-37:

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

Blog:

The Gospel here uses the word, “Watch”, no less than four (4) times in roughly six (6) lines, so Jesus sure was making a point on being “aware”. Nobody except for God knows when Jesus is coming again (or when we’re going to die), but it’s not our duty to try to figure-out the exact date/year of His return (or when we’re going to pass from this world to the Next One). It “is” our job to do as much as we can in the little time that we have here to prepare for the/our end while “keeping an eye” on all that is happening around us. It’s kind of like an expectant Mother (who is planning for a natural birth) having her bags packed for the hospital stay that she knows is coming while she doesn’t know exactly when her baby is going to arrive. It’s also like Firefighters who exercise during their shifts at the firehouse in-between emergency calls. They’re preparing to be as strong as possible for the next challenges that await them for whenever they arrive. It’s also like those who prepare for decades for their retirements with tireless hours of research, investing, and adjustments in lifestyles. It just makes sense in all things to be as ready as possible while we still have time to do so. So, let’s do our best to give Thanks to God for all that He has done and is doing for us while preparing for His Eternal Feast Day with all of the Saints in Heaven.