Deacon Mike Meyer / Monday, December 4, 2023 / Categories: Blog, Homilies Watch! Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, Year B Many years ago, when our daughters were still in single digits, the Meyers made our annual pilgrimage to New York to check out the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, take in a musical, and top the day off with a nice meal at the Chart House in Weehawken. My youngest daughter, Annie, who hates when I mention her in homilies, was terrified of the city, so she spent much of the day glued to my side as we walked the streets and pressed our way through the crowds. At one point, as we passed through a pretty sketchy neighborhood, Annie squeezed my hand, froze in place, and started to cry. I knelt down, looked her in the eye, and said, “Annie, Do I look scared?” She said, “No.” “If I’m not scared,” I said, “then you don’t need to be scared. Just watch me.” Watching me helped Annie through the scary parts of our journey, and she enjoyed the many good things we did that day. Maybe that’s why Jesus tells us to watch for him in our Gospel. We begin Advent today at a pretty scary time in history. We have two major wars that could trigger a wider global conflict at any moment, a vitriolic political campaign that leaves us wondering if anyone’s fit to lead our country. We and even have rancorous dissent in the Church. Our situation’s a lot like the trials and tribulations that Isaiah and our Psalmist bemoan. Like them, we want God to “rend the heavens and come down.” We want God to give us great signs and miracles that make all things right. We want demonstrable proof that God exists and hasn’t abandoned us. With all the anger and suffering in the world today, how else are we supposed to embrace the joyful expectation that Advent promotes? How are we supposed to prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus on Christmas and at the end of time when we need him right now? We do as Jesus tells us to do in our Gospel: we watch. To understand what Jesus means, we have to appreciate the difference between “watch” and “see.” When we see something, we catch sight of it or notice it. When we watch something, we pay attention to it or observe it. Seeing is passive; watching requires our active participation. Let me give you an example. Anyone who’s spent time with young children knows there’s a big difference between seeing a toddler and watching a toddler. When Jesus tells us to watch in our Gospel, he isn’t asking us to stare slack-jawed at the sky, waiting for him to return some time in the distant future. He’s telling us to pay attention and watch for him right now. Jesus’ last words in Matthew’s Gospel are: “I am with you always until the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). He never left us. He comes to us in spirit every day and in every moment of our lives, offering us eternal consolation and peace to help us through the difficult times.[1] While we might prefer something more obvious like the rending of the heavens, mountains quaking, and awesome deeds, Jesus chooses a more subtle approach. He comes to us in a crisp, cool breeze on a sweltering summer day. He comes to us in a comforting caress when our obligations overwhelm us. He comes to us in the breaking of bread to sustain and strengthen us in our weakness and weariness. Sure, we could dismiss these things as nothing more than natural phenomena, human acts, or religious invention. Many do, but if we pay attention, if we watch as Jesus tells us to, we’ll find Jesus behind them all because only God can give us exactly what we need when we need it most. Only God can love us so persistently and perfectly. Once we notice Jesus’ active presence in our lives, something amazing happens. The more we watch, the more we find Jesus. The more we find Jesus, the more consolation and peace we find in him. The more consolation and peace we find in him, the more consolation and peace we share with others. As I preached last month, people “tend to behave toward others the way their leader behaves toward them.”[2] Jesus consoles and comforts us, and we follow the leader. We conform our lives to his by consoling and comforting others. That’s why Jesus also comes to us in the poor and disadvantaged, offering us the opportunity to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. He comes to us in the sick and lonely, inviting us to visit them and care for them. He comes to us in the anxious and depressed, inspiring us to embrace them with compassion and understanding. Every opportunity to love our neighbor is set before our eyes by Jesus himself. They’re gifts that conform us to Christ and prepare us to greet him when he returns on the last day. To find these gifts, to find Jesus, we need to watch. Watching for Jesus’ active presence in our lives really works, too. Countless studies tell us that people who find God in their lives are generally happier and more resilient in the face of adversity. Finding God in our lives is physically, psychologically, and spiritually good for us! It doesn’t render us immune from life’s challenges, and it won’t make us feel happy all the time, but it helps us bear the sad, scary parts of life’s journey with courage and resolve so we can get back to enjoying the many gifts that life offers as well. That’s what happened to Annie and me in New York. While I couldn’t let her see it, I was scared, too. After I reassured her, I stood up, prayed that I’d be able to maintain a confident façade, and watched, quite attentively, as we made our way quickly through that sketchy neighborhood. Then I saw him— Jesus came to us—in the form of two police officers walking down the street in our direction. Thank you, Jesus! We both had a great day after that. Life can be scary, just turn on the news, but it’s wonderful and beautiful, too. How do we enjoy the many blessings God gives us? How do we joyfully welcome Christ at Christmas and at the end of time when the world seems to be falling apart around us? We remember that Jesus is with us every step of the way, just as he promised, offering us, right now, the eternal consolation and peace that can only be found in God. And if we ever doubt God’s active, loving presence in our lives, we do as Jesus tells us: we watch! Readings: Isaiah 63:26b-17, 19b; 64:2-7; Psalm 80; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13: 33-37 [1] Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermo 5: In Adventu Domini, 1-3, Opera Omnia, ed. Cisterc. 4 (1966), 188-190. [2] Carl R. Rogers, Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications and Theory, 70th anniv. ed. (London: Little, Brown Book Group, 2020), 348. Christianity is a Verb Watch! 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