Jesus said to his disciples, "For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
Today, “as in the days of Noah,” people eat and drink, marry (cf. Mt 24:37–38) — with the added aggravation that now man marries man and woman marries woman. Yet, just as in Noah’s time, there are also (omit) saints working at the same office and sitting at the same desks as everyone else. One of them will be taken, and the other left, for the Just Judge will come.
We must keep watch because, as Benedict XVI said, “only those who are alert are not taken by surprise.” We must be prepared, with love burning in our hearts like the lamp of the wise virgins. That is precisely the point: the moment will come when we will hear, “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’’ (Mt 25:6) Jesus Christ!
His arrival is always a source of joy for the one who keeps the torch lit in his heart. His coming is like that of a father who lives far away and writes home: “When you least expect it, I will show up.” From that moment on, everything in the house is filled with joy: “Our Dad is coming!” The saints — our models — lived this way, “waiting for the Lord.”
Advent teaches us to wait with peace and love for the Lord who comes. Nothing of the despair or impatience characteristic of today’s world. Saint Augustine gives us a good rule for waiting: “Live your life as you would like your death to be.” If we wait with love, God will fill our hearts and our hope.
Stay awake, for you do not know on which day your Lord will come (cf. Mt 24:42). A clean house, a pure heart, thoughts and affections formed in the style of Jesus. Benedict XVI explains: “To watch means to follow the Lord, to choose what He has chosen, to love what He has loved, to conform one's own life to His.” Then the Son of Man will come… and the Father will welcome us in His arms for resembling His Son.