First Sunday of Advent: What Time Is It Now?

First Sunday of Advent – A

Isaiah 2:1-5 / Psalm 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 / Romans 13:11-14 / Matthew 24:37-44

What Time Is It Now?

What time is it now?

There are so many ways we keep track of time:

     clocks, watches and calendars;

     the rising and setting of the sun;

     the phases of the moon;

     the turning of the seasons;

     the rotation of our planet around the sun;

     the speed of sound or light;

     innings, quarters, halves or periods;

     holding our breath for as long as we can while driving over a bridge or through a tunnel;

     celebrating wedding anniversaries and birthdays;

     marking the anniversary of a loved one’s death;

     tapping our fingers or feet to the beat of the music;

     nine months to a baby’s birth.

We measure the past and anticipate the future. We say something happened so many years ago, or something else will come to pass when… Keeping track of time usually sets us either looking back or forward. It rarely sets our attention on this moment.

What time is it now?

Today we begin measuring time with candles, colors and a circle of greens. We know that the more candles we have lit, the shorter the time is to the day we await; the shorter the candles, the closer we are; the further around the circle, the closer we are.

In our culture we tend to focus so much on the future, whether it be what we’ll be doing an hour from now, or what’s on our schedule when we get back to work, or school, or when our next doctors’ appointment is and how long we’ll be in the waiting room.

What time is it now?

We can get stuck on a past memory because we can’t let go of the hurt. Or we can be so terminally future-oriented - often to a distant future (college for the infant; retirement for the new worker) - that we miss the present moment, pregnant with possibilities.

What time is it now?

It is now the hour for us to wake from sleep.

What time is it now?

The Kingdom of God is at hand.

What time is it now?

Christians are called to live according to a new time, one not governed by clocks and calendars.  We are to develop a sense of timing — knowing the value of each moment. We are to fill our time doing the works of Christ.

Advent’s sense of timing calls us to expectation: the Son of Man is coming at the time we least expect. That is a frightening prospect. That is a thrilling expectation.

We must constantly ask ourselves, “What time is it now?” 

For your prayerful consideration:

• Consider a time in the past week when the time flew by. As you look back on that time, what are you now aware of that escaped your awareness at the time?
• What is a time in the near future when you fear you will be inattentive to the moment before you? What are you afraid to miss?
• What are you thinking of right now? What are the distractions that keep you from being present to the Lord right now? What helps you to turn your focus on him?