Today is the First Sunday of Advent, a time when we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about His coming at the end of time: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Mt 24:37).

From this passage, one conviction already emerges: the end of time is not about the destruction of everything (as in Armageddon or the Apocalypse we see in cinema). For us Christians, the end of time is the coming of the Lord. It is the encounter with merciful God. Because of this, we await our Lord with hope and joy, even amid tribulations, crises, and dramatic events of history. We await Him. We await Him because He has promised to come and save us.

God is coming to save us. He is coming to deliver us. He is coming to rescue us. We do not know when, but we wait with confidence that the Lord is coming. Yet, Jesus knew that we might grow weary of waiting for Him in the midst of suffering, wars, violence, sickness, failure, hatred, loneliness, and depression. That is why He tells us to “stay vigilant.” “Stay awake!” With these words, Jesus invites us to remain awake, prepared, and ready to welcome Him.

He does not say that everything will be easy while we wait for Him. No! We face hardship, contradictions, betrayal, failure, and deception. Yet He invites us not to be afraid. Why? Not because everything will be fine, but because He will come to rescue us. Jesus will return as He promised. This is why He says: “Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come” (Mt 24:42). Staying awake means being vigilant at all times, standing firm in prayer (cf. Lk 21:34, 36).

Be vigilant! Vigilance is tied to alertness. Being alert means: do not get distracted—stay awake! Do not allow your mind, heart, or body to be consumed by worldly things or by laziness. Staying awake means not letting your spiritual life slip into mediocrity (beware of the danger of spiritual mediocrity!). Many of us find time to watch endless videos on TikTok, binge new movie series, or listen to podcasts, but we claim we have no time to pray. We always have time to go partying with friends, enjoying life in clubs, bars, and cafés, but we neglect to meet Jesus in personal prayer. Without realizing it, we embrace spiritual mediocrity and laziness.

St. Paul urges us to awake from sleep: “Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep” (Rom 13:11). Indeed, we can become “sleepy Christians”: Christians who are anesthetized by spiritual worldliness, lacking fervor, intensity in prayer, enthusiasm for mission, and passion for the Gospel; Christians who always look inward, incapable of lifting their gaze to the horizon. You might even ask yourself: am I a sleepy Christian?

Laziness is linked to apathy—the greatest enemy of the spiritual life and of Christian joy. As Pope Francis has said, “Apathy is a type of laziness that makes us slide into sadness; it takes away passion for life and the will to do things.” It is a negative spirit that traps the soul in anguish, robbing it of joy. It begins with sadness and drags us downward until joy disappears. The Book of Proverbs reminds us: “With all vigilance guard your heart, for in it are the sources of life” (Prov 4:23). Guard your heart—that means be vigilant! Stay awake and guard your heart.

Ask yourself: What distracts me the most? What makes me lazy? What weighs on my spirit? How can I remain awake during this time of Advent so that I may “walk in the light of the Lord”?

by Fr. Mukadi Ilunga, SJ