I speak to you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen
“Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.” (Mark 13:33).
To be on guard or to keep awake is carefully observing or attentive: being on the watch. It is not an easy task for a security man because a bit of slumber or loss of attentiveness can make the person lose a job. After all, the duty is to keep awake and guard; while others sleep, you are expected to stay awake. There are so many things that we do that demand being on guard or being watchful. A driver is expected to be carefully observant. You must keep your eyes on the road, adhere to all traffic signs, and note other drivers, pedestrians, road conditions, etc. We are expected to be on guard and keep awake, meaning we must leave no stone unturned. 1 Peter 5:8 says
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
It is not within our power to know the time; therefore, the most important thing to think of and do is to be watchful and fervent in prayer.
Dear friends in the Lord, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came to this world and established the church. He has given authority to all of us because we are his servants. This means we have all been called to fulfil specific roles in the church, of which Christ is the head. To succeed in what he has called us into, He admonishes us to be awake and prayerful because we do not know the exact time He will return. Being watchful in prayer is the best preparation for His coming so we can meet him at his coming.
Staying awake is being spiritually active and being part of activities that go a long way to promote our total spiritual well-being. This is about spending quiet time with the Lord; an ideal one is having a time of silence before God, especially in the presence of the blessed sacrament, to contemplate, meditate, pray, and tune us to the promptings and directions of the holy spirit even as we begin the liturgical year. When we come together, it helps us to stay on guard because we get the assurance that we are not alone.
The church must always lead the way in helping us uplift our spirituality so the Holy Hour is there for all of us to come and meditate before the Blessed Sacrament. We must be a church full of Love, Hope, Faith, Charity, Prayer, and righteousness. If we can do this, we are a church awake and watchful in prayer. We must begin to understand that two or more who have accepted Jesus Christ as their saviour and Lord and coming together in the name of Christ is what the church is, hence, the importance of fellowship. To stay awake, we must establish a personal relationship with God that is not stale but always fresh and growing.
Paul speaks to the church of Corinth and prays for grace, which proceeds from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The assembly is filled with the grace of God, which is the goodness of God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. Through the cross, the church is enriched, edified, and sustained. Therefore, God’s promises continue to manifest in our lives and the church. The cross has enriched the church in both utterance and knowledge. This is not only to the church in Corinth but in every assembly of God, including us here today. The same cross must be exhibited in our lives for all to see. This is why we all need to stir up the gift of God in us so that we can be watchful and stay fervent in prayer while waiting for the coming of our master. Do not be afraid because the cross gives us everything we need as Christians and a church to grow and flourish while we wait and prepare for the coming.
By making the cross the object of our faith through the power of the holy spirit, we will be blameless on the day of our master’s coming. We must bear in mind that we are all unclean things, and even our righteousness is nothing in the sight of God. Still, if we allow the cross of Christ to manifest in our lives by allowing God to be the potter and the clay in his hand, we will continue to stay awake and prayerful while we wait for His coming. AMEN.