Jesus said to his disciples:
“Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
~ Matthew 24:37-44
“Waiting for Godot” has always been one of my favorite plays. In my younger days, I saw several stagings of it. it was popular among schools and drama groups then. The total ambience and tone of the play is dark and lugubrious. But somehow it touches chords in my heart that resonate with its dark and somber dialogue. Yet, in the midst of all that angst and melancholy of Vladimir and Estragon, there is joy and great expectation in their waiting. In spite of the uncertainty and ambiguity of who it is they are waiting for, they show up day after day and continue their wait, pretty certain that Godot will finally show up tomorrow.
It is exactly like life. I do not know what tomorrow may bring. But I always wake up in the morning, excited about the prospects of the new day. Many days, I do not know what to expect nor even what to wish for. But there is always that feeling that today may finally be the day. For what or why? Not sure. But hey here is another brand new day ant another precious 24 hours given to me. I may often see life and the future rather dimly, but I still like taking photos along the way.
Advent heightens this sense of waiting and expectancy. Somehow things change when there is this heightened expectation. I am more aware and sensitive. I am more alert and ready to go. I get a better focus on things. I begin to understand I do not need many of the things I have burdened myself with. I can get rid of many of these burden and be ready and light for the journey or to face whoever and whatever is waiting for me just around the bend.
I make Saint Paul’s admonition to the Romans my special thought and prayer for today:
Brothers and sisters:
You know the time;
it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.
For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed;
the night is advanced, the day is at hand.
Let us then throw off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light;
let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day,
not in orgies and drunkenness,
not in promiscuity and lust,
not in rivalry and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.