Advent... time of vigilance

As many Advents, or really all, let's be honest, do, the readings this past weekend spoke of anticipation and being on one's guard. Specifically Jesus said that we should be vigilant.

Now with this vigilance, and specifically when it comes to anticipating Christ or the end times, we must always decipher what we are focused on. What do I mean by this? Well, our culture has some O.C.D. going on surrounding end time events such as cosmic disasters, violence, famines, etc. as personified by the movie 2012, the history channel special The Nostradamus Effect, and a new facebook app I saw today about 2012, all of these teach us to be vigilant about big things that really do us no good.

While Jesus did elude to cosmic events taking place in the end times in the sky and such, he mentioned that we should be vigilant in preparing our hearts and shaking off the anxieties that weigh us down. Ultimate Jesus points to an interior focus regarding vigilance not an exterior one. In fact, think about it; has not all the hype of 2012, especially if you buy into it, cause more fear and distress and anxiety too rather than goodness and hope and spiritual growth? Furthermore, are we not lacking in faith and placing our trust in a false hope if we buy into the dooms-day 2012 predictions? Are we saying that the Mayans or Nostradamus know more or are more in charge then God? Let's just say there's going to be one big event that wipes us all out, wouldn't our time be better spent getting to know the God we will meet? And, lastly, not to sound shallow or anything but really, if the world were to end in 2012, isn't that God's job to take care, worry about, and handle, not ours?!

However, if we are vigilant about matters of the interior, i.e. of the heart, mind, and soul, such as, the virtues we struggle with or where we will strive to grow, don't we stand more to gain? Yes, we do!!! For if we are vigilant about shaking off needless anxieties and worries do we not gain the freedom that comes with that? If we concentrate and standing erect before the Lord and purifying our hearts, confronting our struggles, naming and claiming what we do well and where we need to grow, do we not stand to gain a whole bunch more? We do!!!

For if we strengthen what we do well as Christ's disciples and seek to improve where we are lacking, in our quest for growth, Christ is born again within us and amongst others we come into contact with.

While hype and vigilance in the uncertain seems so alluring, we can grow in God's grace which is assuring. While we can buy into hype about what 'might' happen some day, we can grow in God's grace today and everyday. In all of this, we need only to name and claim those areas of strength and growth, be specific and challenge ourselves to allow hope, to allow Christ to be born within us again and again. Should we not place our focus here?