First Sunday of Advent:
Learning to Stay Awake
Readings: Isaiah 2:1-5 / Romans 13:11-14 / Matthew 24:37-44
Setting the Scene
Matthew wrote his Gospel around 80-85 AD for a struggling community in Syria, a mix of Jewish and Gentile Christians who were tired, disappointed, and wondering if they'd been fooled. Jesus had died and risen fifty years earlier. The Temple was destroyed. Many who knew Jesus personally had died. And still, He hadn't returned.
They were doing what we do: eating, drinking, working, loving, living. Ordinary life. Jesus doesn't condemn ordinariness. He just asks one thing: Stay awake.
The Heart of It
"They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the flood came."
Two people in a field. Two women grinding grain. One taken, one left. Not because one was evil and one was good. But because one was awake and one was asleep to what mattered most.
Paul says it plainly: "You know what time it is." But do we?
Isaiah dreams of weapons becoming farm tools. Death transformed into life. It's the Franciscan way: finding God not somewhere else, but right here in our daily life.
The question isn't whether you'll be doing ordinary things when Christ comes. You will be. The question is: Will you be awake while you're doing them?
For Your Reflection
Take some time with these questions. Don't rush. Start a journal during this Advent. Spend some quality time getting closer and closer to our Lord.
About Waiting:
- What's the hardest thing you've ever waited for?
- Are you tired of waiting for something from the Lord right now?
- How does weariness change the way you pray?
About Paying Attention:
- When did you last notice God in an ordinary moment?
- What distracts you most from staying awake?
- Do you recognise God in daily life? How? When?
- If someone watched your life, would they see you waiting for Jesus, living a life that Jesus would agree with, or are you too distracted and not including the Lord at all?
About Trust:
- What scares you about not knowing when Jesus will return?
- Would knowing the date change how you live?
- What false security are you clinging to that keeps you from trusting God 100%?
About Community:
- Do you feel connected to the other believers who are waiting with you?
- How has disappointment in your life shaped your faith?
- What would it mean to disarm your heart today?
Praying the Glorious Mysteries
As you hold the rosary and pray your rosary today, let each mystery remind you:
The Resurrection - Jesus came back once. He'll come again.
The Ascension - Jesus left, but not forever.
Pentecost - The Holy Spirit keeps us awake while we wait.
Mary's Assumption - Ordinary faithfulness leads to extraordinary glory.
Mary's Coronation - The waiting is worth it. Mary is on our journey with us as we wait.
Mary's life was all about waiting: the fullness of her pregnancy, the slowness of Jesus' childhood, the agony of the cross, the silence of waiting before Pentecost. She remained awake through it all.
Ask her now: How can I learn this kind of patience?
Closing
Before you leave this time of reflection, in your prayer, ask God honestly:
- Where am I asleep, not focused on You?
- What am I waiting for? Why am I so distracted?
- How can I stay awake today?
Then ask the Lord:
Lord, teach me to wait like You're really coming.
Because Jesus really is.
First Sunday of Advent, Year A
A Franciscan Reflection
©2025 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
