Jesus said, "But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. ... Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."   

One of the things that usually frightens us about our lives is the fact that we will die some day. We often face it with fear and real concern. In the movie "The Bucket List," Edward Cole and Carter Chambers are given the news that they will die within a year. The initial shock for them is overwhelming, of course, but it soon gives way to the important question of what they are going to do about it.

In the Scriptures, the passages that refer to the Second Coming of Jesus can just as easily be interpreted as speaking of our deaths because most, if not all, of us will probably die before the Second Coming of Jesus. The word that Jesus always uses when he talks of the Second Coming or our deaths is the word "prepare." We must prepare for our deaths. How do we do that? In this passage of Scripture, Jesus says that we must "stay awake."

Obviously, we cannot stay physically awake all the time. Jesus means that we must be open to serious thinking about our lives and what we are doing with them. Edward Cole and Carter Chambers in the movie "The Bucket List" initially prepared for their deaths by having a good time before they "kick the bucket." They "stayed awake" by enjoying themselves. It is interesting, however, that they could not just have a good time without thinking seriously about what was happening to them. In the end, they began to "stay awake" in the way Jesus wanted by truly studying their lives.

The obvious conclusion of the Scripture passage and even the movie "The Bucket List" is that we have to "stay awake" and prepare for our deaths by studying what we are becoming in our lives. Are we becoming caring, loving people as we deal with ourselves and others, or are we simply giving in to the selfishness of living that this world makes so easy. In order to prepare well, we have to address the internal part of our lives, studying what we are becoming. We should be preparing ourselves to spend eternity with God, and it means that we "stay awake" while we live on earth.              

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, while we are here on your earth, you want us to prepare to meet you for eternity. May we follow your Son's directives as we go about our lives here, "staying awake" by accepting the wisdom of his words. Be with us, we pray. 

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America