Saint Mark 13:24-37

Foresight - staying awake - is the beginning of true wisdom - the beginning of living wisely.

The holy men and women of the Far East have always made wisdom the supreme human virtue. The custom of disciplined solitude in the pursuit of wisdom profoundly affected Oriental Religious thought. But for most of us in today's Western Society, there is little time in our busy schedules, there is little time for the pursuit of Wisdom through serious, quiet, uninterrupted reflection about who we are and what we ought to do with our lives.

• Living wisely means staying awake.
• Living wisely means looking ahead.
• Living wisely means acknowledging that we are tourists on God's earth, only passing through.
• Living wisely means pointing oneself in the direction of the very Source of Life.
• Living wisely means acknowledging one's dependence on God, not only for life, but for the way of life.
• Living wisely means developing a lifestyle which, in itself, is an act of faith in God's promise of ultimate, total fulfillment.

A young Naval Ensign was completing his first overseas cruise and was given the opportunity to display his capabilities in getting the ship underway in a timely manner…

With a stream of commands he had the deck buzzing with Sailors, and soon the shi was steaming out of the channel. His efficiency established a new record for getting a ship underway. And he was not surprised when a Seaman approached him with a message from the Captain.

He was a bit surprised, however, to find that it was a radio message. And he was even more surprised to read, "My personal congratulations upon completing your underway preparation exercise according to the book and with amazing speed. In your haste, however, you have overlooked one of the unwritten rules of the sea, that is, 'Make sure the Captain is aboard before you get underway.'"

We are crippled in our pursuit of wisdom by a Society which is pursing knowledge at breakneck speed without ever slowing down to reflect on how to handle it. We are crippled in our pursuit of wisdom by a society which subordinates the pursuit of wisdom to the pursuit of personal gain.

In our haste to journey to "who knows where," we are trying to get underway as though God is not aboard.

Consequently, what the world needs now is a wakeup call!

How to live wisely? The question cannot be answered by spiritual somnambulists, those sleep-walkers whose eyes are closed to the reality that God is the Source of all Wisdom. In order for us to discover the meaning of all of life, we must be in touch with God. The wisdom of Scripture informs us that we must love the Lord our God with our whole heart and our whole soul, and our whole mind. And we pursue Wisdom only to the extent that we are in touch with God on this level.

In other words, the pursuit of True Wisdom is the Pursuit of God; the Pursuit of God is the Pursuit of True Wisdom.

Is this world of ours the Kingdom of God on earth in which peace and justice and love are the foundation stones? Or have we given up the Pursuit of God?

Is this Community of ours a bastion of caring and sensitivity and compassion? Or have we given up the Pursuit of God?

Live wisely! Make each day of your life's journey a day of preparation for New Life in the Lord Jesus. Make each day of your life's journey a day of preparation for your ultimate fulfillment in the promised Eternal Life with God.

Prepare wisely! Make each day's journey a day for loving one another as Jesus has loved you!

Experience the joy of human love now in preparation for the awesome experience of Divine Love for all eternity.

"Therefore keep awake - for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn," Jesus reminds us in today's Gospel Reading (Mark 13:35).

The Late Cardinal Cushing often told the story of a little girl sitting on her Grandma's lap and listening to the Creation Story from the Book of Genesis …

As the wondrous story unfolded, the grandmother, noticing that the child was unusually quiet, asked, "Well, what do you think of it dear?" The child answered, "I love it, you never know what God is going to do next!"

To expect the unexpected of God is the difference between our preconceived notions of who He really is and what He is really doing.

It is the difference between being a mere spectator to the revealed Word and the actual recipient to the revealed Word.

It is the difference between some vague general affirmation that God has spoken, and an abiding conviction that God I speaking to us now, in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

There was a rocky hill in Athens called "The Areopagus." It was the meeting place of the wise men of Athens…

These men functioned as a Court and dealt with political, legal and religious matters.

The Apostle Paul appeared before these men and praised them for their religious pursuits.

Among the many religious objects Paul observed was an Altar on which were inscribed the words, "To an unknown God." It seems the people of Athens were keeping all their options open.

Paul made it known that he had met this unknown God and that this God became known to him through Jesus, the Christ. This God, he said, is not far from each of us, for "In this God we live and move and have our being." He then reminded the people of Athens that "We are indeed God's offspring."

With such a grand and noble heritage, the question must be asked, "Would God recognize us as His offspring by our actions and our attitudes?"

"Would the world recognize us as children of God?"

"Have we come together in this way to prepare ourselves for another week of living wisely?"

Or are we still not hearing the wakeup call of the Lord Jesus Christ?

"If He comes unexpectedly, He must not find you asleep," says the Lord. Here now Jesus' call to follow Him on our journey through life. All Aboard!

Thanks be to God!!!!!

Amen!!!