Advent is being alert

The Lord Is My Chef Breakfast Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Second Week of Advent, 11 December 2020
Isaiah 48:17-19     >><)))*> + >><)))*> + >><)))*>     Matthew 11:16-19

Forgive us, O Lord, for not being alert for your coming in our lives. Indeed, your words are so true!

Jesus said to the crowds: “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

Matthew 11:16-19

Being alert is more than being vigilant; it is being open to see and test everything, even take risks to verify whatever is at hand.

So many times, Lord, we are caught flat-footed not exerting any effort, even doing nothing, in being aware and conscious of your presence, of your coming.

Give us a healthy mistrust of our feelings and knowledge sometimes. May we try to listen in our hearts, to find where we are at peace for wherever there is peace, there you are found.

Being alert is also listening intently to you, O God, following your commands that lead us to fulfillment and fullness in life. So often, we find your voice too simple even repetitive without realizing your words are always borne out of love. Like the Israelites thrown into exile, we would rather follow the strange gods than You without noticing, without being alert, of the many dangers we are being led to.

Heighten our awareness of your presence in us, in others and in the things happening around us. Amen.