STAY AWAKE!

 

Be vigilant! Be at alert! Be watchful! Be on your guard! All these phrases denote get ready, for the extreme danger is about to happen.

 

As we begin the preparation for the coming of Christ,  how ready are we to welcome Jesus if he arrives at this very moment?

 

In the days of old, many prophets foretold his coming and warmed the people to be ready, to be on their guard... When Christ eventually came, they were unaware because they were not vigilant.

It is very easy for our generation to blame the people of that time for not being at alert to welcome Jesus. If you were alive then, would you have expected Jesus to be born to a poor family like Mary and Joseph? Would you have look for the messiah in a manger, smelling like goat and sheep? Would you have rather looked for him on the cross? Would you have expected Jesus to look and taste like bread? Remember, he told us he was the bread of life. Would you have believed that the Christ would keep friends like Zacchaeus and Matthew? It was said that they were public sinners.

As it is God comes to us in an unexpected ways, where we never ever thought of, yet he is present.  The truth is that, not all of us will experience his coming at the end of the ages. However,  once one's end comes, Christ has come for that person. It is easy to deceive ourselves that we will repent of our evil ways once our end is near. It is not everyone that is given that opportunity. Some people have the privilege to know when God will call them home like Elijah. Others were called suddenly and no excuse not to answer the call.

The point here is be at alert, be on your guard,  be vigilant for Christ is coming at an hour you do not expect. Are you ready for him?

 

Sr. Veronica Fatoyinbo, SNDdeN

From Grass to Grace

 

“Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing” (Ps 126 v 6). Our God is a good God. He created us and loved us even more than we can imagine. What we experience today as hardship, is a way God is preparing us for the future. In the book of Genesis 37, I marveled at the wisdom of God.  Joseph got sold to Egypt (the land of slavery) by his own brothers. At first, I was tempted to condemn his brothers and if I had been there as they were planning, I would have reported them to the FBI for their immediate arrest. However, God has his own superior agenda. God always lie straight on a crooked line. He allowed Joseph to be sold to the land of slavery so that he could prepare the place for his family in the period of famine.   Can I ask myself these questions: Am I fulfilling the purpose for which God created me or am I wasting my time complaining about every little rocks in my path for which God knows about? Who are the Joseph’s brothers in my life? How am I Joseph to others?

One may say that it was not easy for Joseph, he could have died in the process. Yes, you are right, but it was in the divine plan that things should be the way they were.  Joseph saved his family from dying of starvation and by extension, the whole world, when the famine was ranging all over the world. From no body, Joseph became the prime minister of Egypt. He moved from grass to grace. Such is the Divine will in our lives. Am I open to accept the will of God for me?

Remember God carefully created you. He loves you like an only child. You are precious to him like a special treasure. He cares for you like a tree planted along the river bank... whose leaves never fade.