There was an old Benedictine Monk, who, through a life of
prayer and penance had searched for Christ for 50 years. One night, before the
monk went to bed, he said to the Lord in prayer, “Lord, I have been
waiting. I have been waiting my whole
life to hear you and see you and meet you.
I have been longing to sense your presence all my life, but I never have,
and I’ve become discouraged” Some of us might be able to relate to that.
The monk then heard the voice of Jesus say, “I will come to
you tomorrow.”
The old monk could hardly sleep he was so excited. And when the sun rose that morning he waited
in his room for Jesus who had promised to come to him. The chapel bells began to ring for morning Mass,
and he thought to himself, well, I can’t leave my room because Jesus is coming
and I might miss him. There was then a
knock on his door, and the old monk sprung up to open it. But it was one of his
brother monks, who asked, “are you alright?
Mass is starting!” The old monk
said “You go ahead and start without me.
I’m not coming today.”
A couple of hours later, another monk knocked on the door,
and said, “Come on, it is your day to bathe the sick monks and change the
sheets and to feed them their soup and bread.”
Again, not wanting to leave his room because he might miss the coming of
Jesus, he said, “I can’t come, you’ll have to cover for me.”
It was getting late, and the old monk began to get worried,
when there was a knock on his door. Thinking Christ had finally come, he opened
the door and a man stood there with his wife and three children. The man said, “excuse me brother, but there
is a snow storm and we are seeking refuge, could you find us a room?” And the monk said, “I’m sorry, I wish I could,
I’m just too busy, and I can’t be distracted.” And he closed the door.
Midnight came, and the old monk was distraught and
frustrated and upset because he felt that the Lord had not kept his
promise. So in prayer he said, “Lord, you
told me you would come to visit me today and I’ve been waiting all day and it
didn’t happen.”
The same voice he heard the night before said, “What do you
mean? I came to you three times today, I came in the Eucharist, I came in the
form of your sick brothers, and I came as a family needing your help, but you
did not recognize me.”
Just like that monk who didn’t want to leave his cell, we often
fail to recognize the many ways Jesus wants to enter our life. We can miss him when he comes at Mass because
we’ve failed to leave our worldly distractions at the door and prepare well for
this sacred time. We can miss Him in
those we are called to serve if we do not look to our neighbor’s needs outside
of ourselves. Sometimes, we say, “Lord I want to meet you, but only on my
terms”
In the Gospel, Jesus was teaching his disciples to remain
vigilant for his coming at the end of time.
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and
drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life.” Carousing, drunkenness,
anxiety. These things can cause us to
miss the Lord’s coming, not only at the end of time, but also in the course of
our everyday Christian living.
Carousing and drunkenness can lead to our missing the Lord’s
coming. Overindulging the appetites of
the body can make the mind heavy and dull and unfit for the spiritual and
religious exercises which we should be practicing on a daily basis, such as spiritual
reading, meditation, and prayer.
We know too well how anxieties about worldly matters can
lead us to miss the Lord. Our pursuit of worldly things can lead us to skip our
spiritual duties entirely or neglect the quality of prayer and meditation that
we should be exercising. How often have
we made that excuse: I’m too busy too pray. I’m too busy to go to Mass, we have
company coming over, the kids to get to sports practice. All the while, it is precisely
when we feel we don’t have time to pray, that we need prayer all the more. The
devil uses the temptation of worldly matters to keep us from spiritual goods.
The month of December is filled with many temptations isn’t
it? Temptations to eat and drink too much, shop too much, worry too much, pray
too little, study God’s word too little. All these temptations arise, just as
Jesus is desiring to enter into our lives more deeply. The devil cannot stand Advent. Advent can be a powerful life changing
season, where we grow in peace, and hope, and love, and joy. So the devil bombards us with temptations, to
obscure the work of God, to lead us away from the sort of life changing prayer
and service Jesus wants for us.
We know all too well how the busyness of December can
distract us from the true meaning of Christmas.
So, “take heed” as Jesus says today. This Advent, we need more time in
prayer, not less. More time in quiet
reflection on the promises of Scripture, not less. Take heed, not to let the busyness of
December, keep your from recognizing the ways Jesus wants to come into your life
this Advent and this Christmas.
Don’t let the world tell you how to prepare for Christmas,
allow your faith to guide these Advent weeks that you might be filled with true
joy, joy which the world cannot give, for the glory of God and salvation of
souls.
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