Perhaps on this day we want to pay particular attention to the first reading, because not only is this the first scripture passage to be proclaimed today, it is the first passage for this liturgical year; and, because this is year A, it provides the first words of scripture we read in the entire 3-year cycle. We are told of the “vision” of the prophet Isaiah about Judah and Jerusalem. We are told that something will happen “in the days to come.” Now, for a prophet to be recognized as a genuine spokesperson for the Lord, the prophet’s word had to be fulfilled among the people for whom it had been spoken. Isaiah forsees the day when true peace will come about – a remarkable vision, given that all of Jerusalem is in fear the powerful Assyrians will destroy their city. Peace will be so complete that people will turn their swords into ploughshares, spears into pruning hooks – weapons of war converted into tools for cultivation and growth. St. Paul is even more insistent about something that is coming “soon.” Salvation, he says is nearer at hand than when he and his readers were converted, and “the time” has come; time to “wake up.” Waking up is a metaphor for action, for accepting the Gospel as genuine.
Waking up demands action. The Gospel sounds a note of even more immediacy, when Jesus insists, “stay awake.” Taking the example of the total unawareness about the impending flood in Noah’s time, Jesus urges His disciples to remain awake. His words to them are directed to their preparation for the return of the Son of Man, and let last sentence of today’s Gospel makes it explicit: “you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
There is, however, something puzzling about the mixture of ideas in today’s Gospel. It is one thing to stand ready for the future return of the Son of Man, but to stay awake is something we can only do for the present. We are people who profess the belief that the Lord is truly present in the Eucharist, in the proclamation of God’s word, where even as few as two or three are gathered in God’s name, and in each of our brothers and sisters who are children of God. To stay awake is to be alert – to be aware of what is going on and to be the lookout for the Lord among us.