Listen to a simple service of prayer and reflection centred on Matthew 24.36-44 for 27 November
Note: This service was first recorded in 2022 for Advent Sunday, Year A
Reflection on Matthew 24.36-44
(RCL Advent 1 Year A)
Today we are entering a time of preparation. As the secular frenzy associated with Christmas moves up a gear we are called to pray, to engage with scripture on a daily basis, and to mark the season with some form of self-sacrifice (fasting). These rituals of preparation are commonly associated with Lent, the time that precedes our celebration of the great victory of Easter. As Lent is a time that leads us towards the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, so the season which begins today invites us to make suitable preparation for the celebrations with which we will mark the beginnings of that life-changing journey.
As we contemplate four weeks of spiritual discipline we begin with Jesus’ call for watchfulness. Throughout the gospel narrative Our Lord reminds us that our human plans and machinations count for nothing unless they are rooted in faith. In today’s reading we are reminded of the transient nature of our human existence; we are also reminded of the need to be in perpetual readiness for God’s summons into his eternal presence.
It is a fact that we forever find ourselves daydreaming, struggling to remain focused on Jesus’ command to: Keep awake.No matter how strong our resolve at the beginning of each day, we soon find ourselves being distracted by the demands of the hectic, unrelenting secular world. Every day we find ourselves susceptible to the changes and chances, the vagaries and serendipities that distracted those who allowed the thief to deprive them of all that is truly precious.
Let us pray that, amidst the distractions of the next four weeks, we might remain steadfast as we prepare for the intense joy of the Incarnation.