Matthew 24:42-44 NRSVue

⁴²Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

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Further reflection

Staying awake means noticing and being alert. As I take time to pray, I allow the things I have been too busy to see come to my notice.

I think of how Advent has been in the past. As I look ahead, I consider what might help me to remain alert.

Of all temptations, the most subtle is: /There is no hurry. Leave it till tomorrow./ Saint August 2006ine phrased it in a famous prayer: /Lord give me chastity, but not yet. /

Tell me, Lord, what I must wake up to and act on, today.