For a moment, let’s imagine we are alive in the time of Jesus. We are sitting on a grassy hillside listening to Him preach. When we hear the words, "Be watchful , be alert." we would probably sense the urgency in His voice. The words come as a warning and we can imagine dire consequences if we do not heed them We might comment to a neighbor, "Jesus seems more serious, today."

The example may seem far fetched. We’re not in the presence of Jesus and, therefore, we may not appreciate his warnings. However, He is speaking to each of us .. just as if we were with Him at the time these words were spoken. And what do they mean?

Each individual mentioned in this gospel has responsibilities .... the servants were told to continue doing their work. The gatekeeper must keep on watch as if his lord had never left. Jesus is saying to us .. "You have responsibilities. Age doesn’t matter. From teenagers to senior citizens we should carry out our responsibilities to our God. Why? Because we know not when we will meet our Lord .. in the evening, at midnight, at cockcrow or in the morning. He might even come when we are sleeping.

Now, our lives are fairly comfortable. However, recently something happened that should be a wake up call for everyone. An airplane took off from Orlando, Florida on the way to Dallas. It never arrived at it’s destination. On the plane was golfer Payne Stewart and some of his associates. He was in the prime of his life, had a wonderful wife and family and could be described as having a perfect life. But it ended.

We might contrast the circumstances of this tragedy with what’s happening in our lives today. What responsibilities has Jesus given us? I believe they include the Commandments, the Beatitudes, loving one’s neighbor and helping those less fortunate than we are. He is saying to us, "Continue, each day, to follow the guidelines I have given you so that someday you may enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

I believe we must be very watchful because the society in which we live makes it more difficult to continue to prepare for the return of our Lord by fulfilling our responsibilities. Our society, with it’s emphasis on pornography in most of the television shows and the movies , the availability of drugs, the seeming lack of morality even in the highest offices of our government and the growing number of disadvantaged people, reminds me of that Lear jet, flying on course but headed for disaster. Military pilots followed Payne Stewart’s plane after they learned something had gone wrong. Other than icy windows, the plane looked fine. The automatic pilot guided it in a straight line.

However, inside the plane, there was no life. Everything seemed fine but eventually, there was no more fuel and the plane plunged to the ground. Jesus said, "Be watchful, be alert ... you do not know when the lord of the house is coming."

This is the 1st Sunday of Advent. For the next 4 weeks we are asked by God to be alert ... be watchful for the anniversary of the coming of His son. Can we compare this time we have to the flight of Payne Stewart’s plane? From the outside ..... everything looks normal .... everything seems fine . But is that enough?

Jesus asks that our lives, during the next 4 weeks, not be normal and that we do be concerned about how we are preparing for His coming. And how do we do that? By fulfilling our responsibilities of prayer, fasting and alms giving. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself is still His command.

This is particularly true for the teens and the young adults because there is so much peer pressure during this season of celebration that it’s important to make preparations for the important event ... the birth of Jesus Christ.

How do we discharge these responsibilities to God? During this season we all will be making lists. We makes lists of family and friends to whom we will give gifts. We make lists of the foods we need to prepare the wonderful meals that will be served. Would it be impractical to write out a list of what we will do to prepare for the coming of Our Lord? (If you wish, bring a tablet into the pulpit and show it to the congregation and ask:) As we write our list, can we promise to attend 1 or 2 masses during the week? It would only take an hour or so. If any are available, I’ve found that noon Masses are very convenient. You might even attend as husband and wife and have lunch together after Mass. Could we make a notation to say a rosary each day, possibly while driving our car to the super market, to work or awaiting our children’s dismissal from school?

Can we write the names of people to whom we will pay special attention during this Advent, listing first our spouse and our children and our parents. We also must include the names of people or organizations to which we will commit some time and, possibly, money. Why not "adopt" a poor family and provide a reasonable meal and gifts for the children? Your children may have a greater appreciation of Christmas if they learn that everyone does not have the same blessings.

In short, will our journey toward Christmas be like Payne Stewart’s plane which, from the outside, appeared to be on a normal journey but there was no life inside? Or rather, will our hearts be alive with the real joy of celebrating His birth for the final time in this millenium.