Disciples on a Journey

We have begun the season of preparation and waiting…Advent.  

In Mark’s Gospel, on the first Sunday of Advent we heard, “Jesus said to his disciples:
Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.”  

When we think of Advent, we often think of it as a time of preparing for Christmas.  Christmas, a time when we remember and hear again the story of the birth of Jesus.  As we get older, I think we become more in tune with another waiting….waiting for when Jesus will come again. 

This is what we hear in Mark’s Gospel. We are called to be watchful, and to be alert. We do not know when our last breath on earth will come and when our life with God in heaven will begin.  

So, what does it mean to us to be watchful and  to be alert? How will we spend our four weeks of Advent waiting and preparing?