Mark 13:33-37 NRSVue
33Beware, keep alert, for you do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35Therefore, keep awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow or at dawn, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
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Reflection on Mark 13:33-37
Inspiration from 2026-11-29 Daily Prayer
As we journey through the Gospel of Mark this year, we will notice
that the disciples are asleep much of the time; they are afflicted with
spiritual blindness as they constantly fail to understand what Jesus is
about. His conversations with them will help them to see who Jesus
really is and what is required of his followers.
Advent is a busy time as we prepare to celebrate Christmas and all
that goes with it. Instead of worrying about when the ‘master of the
house’ will return, let us reflect on what we can do in our daily lives
to aid our own awakening: perhaps we need to slow down to wake
up, to create quiet spaces for ourselves, to find the stillness we truly
need.
Further reflection
Jesus' message and life was to make a difference and save the world. That's the call - to do the world a world of good. Stay awake - see how you can make someone else's life that bit better. We need to believe that each of us can make a difference to our families, to the neighbourhood, to the school. One way is to keep in touch with God. Advent can be a time to make sure - through prayer, Mass, through helping the very poor - that we keep in touch with God. We allow God's grace and care to flow through us.
Five times in this short passage Jesus tells me to be attentive. I would rather settle down to a comfortable life. But the world of God is breaking in everywhere, like an invasion. I ask for the grace to seek God in all things, as St Ignatius says.
A new world order began with Jesus, and I have a part to play in it. Every day I review what went on, and as G M Hopkins says, ‘I greet him the days I meet him, and bless when I understand’.