If the owners of the house had known
at what time of night the thief was coming,
they would have kept watch
and would not have let the house be broken into.
—Matthew 24.43
It is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.
For salvation is nearer to us now
than when we became believers;
the night is far gone, the day is near.
—Romans 13.11-12
Every year Advent begins with talk of the “end times” but recent events make it seem unsettlingly apt this year. Not exactly encouraging, is it? But maybe this isn’t about seeing farther into the future, but deeper into the present. “The moment to wake” is always now. The night is not about us but within us. Our eyes are full of sleep. God comes among us like a thief in the night but we don’t see it coming.
The day is not drawing nearer in the future; it’s rising right inside the present. God is breaking into our lives right now. Can you see? The night of not seeing is far gone. When you first began to care it seemed a long way off. But now you’re more mindful of it. Life is a continual awakening to the dawning of God within us. By this light we become light, and transform the night around us.
God, awaken me to your coming.
Even in the night around me
open the eyes of my heart
to the rising light of your presence.