The Invited and the Uninvited
Are unannounced guests a joy or a burden?
I think many of us would answer: it depends on the situation and who it is.
In the Gospel for the First Sunday in Advent (Matthew 24: 37-44), Jesus speaks to His disciples about a visitor who comes unannounced.
In the Gospel of Mark, it is the master of a house. In Luke’s Gospel, it’s a guest arriving at a feast. And in Matthew, it is a thief in the night. In each Gospel the image changes, but the dilemma is the same: What do I need to be ready?
One Thing Is Clear
We need to stay awake. But how can we carry readyness all the time without wearing out our souls? Anyone who has driven for hours knows the battle with sleep when concentration fades and the eyelids grow heavy. It becomes dangerous. That is why there are rules for driver regarding driving and rest. It is a smart rule that protects life. But Jesus’ call remains: “So too, you also must be ready, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Does God call us to live, braced for impact, our hearts locked in tension? I don’t believe that Jesus comes to steal from us in the night. Quite the opposite: He comes to wake us up to love.
The Story of Martin
There is a story I love that carries this truth so well. It is called, “Where Love Is, God Is” by Leo Tolstoy.
Martin is a humble shoemaker whose life has been broken by loss. His wife and his children had died. He was swallowed by grief and said to a friend: “I can no longer believe in God.” And the friend answered: “Your grief will lift when you start living for God.” Martin asked: “Living for God? But how?” The friend said simply: “Read the Bible.” So, Martin opened the Bible to the Gospel of Luke. He read about Jesus as a guest in a Pharisee’s house. He read how poorly that Pharisee cared for his visitor. Deeply touched, Martin wondered: If Jesus came as a guest to my house, would I ignore Him too?
And then, Martin fell asleep and he dreamt. And in the dream, a voice said: “Martin, watch closely—tomorrow I will come to you.”
Early the next morning, Martin sat at the window in his workshop, repairing shoes. But his eyes kept returning to the world outside. Almost every person he recognized by their shoes. For example the old Stepan shoveling snow with stiff, exhausted shoulders. Martin sighed: “I sit here imagining Jesus will come visit me, while this old man struggles out there in the cold.”
So he called out:
“Stepan! Come inside. Rest. Warm yourself. Come in and drink some tea with me.” But, Martin kept looking out the window… more to check for Jesus than to repair his shoes. “Are you expecting someone» Stepan asked. Martin smiled and told him about the dream he had…”It could be that He will come to me.” Then Martin saw a woman holding a small child, leaning against a wall protecting her child from the icy wind. The old shoemaker called out to her, “Come inside, you and your child and warm yourselves!” The woman was moved and she softly said, “Truly, God must have sent me to you today.” He gave them some food, an old jacket, and he gave her some money. Martin went back to his workbench with the words lingering in his heart … Jesus has not come.
The day was coming to an end. With quiet disappointment, he reached for his Bible. And as he opened it, the echo of his dream returned … suddenly he felt movement all around him, like people passing behind his back. He called out in surprise: “Who is there?” And then the voice came. “Martin…it is Me”. The shadows shifted and figures appeared and dissolved like mist in the lamplight: Stepan, the old neighbor clearing snow. The tired mother holding her child. And then Martin understood: Jesus had come – living and breathing – in them.
Dear Friends In Christ Jesus
Our surprise visitor does not wait for the end of time, He comes today, unannounced and almost unnoticed. God does not ask us to live the days and nights in nervous tension so that we don’t “miss” meeting His Son. Instead, He comes to us in the faces we see, in the people near and close to us, especially those in need. Readiness is not about pressure, it is a way of holding the heart.
Advent: Watching and Waiting
Maybe we begin the season of Advent watching the sky for angels.
But Christ usually comes walking down the street asking only to be recognized in kindness.
In our First Reading (Isaiah 2: 1-5), the prophet Isaiah spoke of a world where weapons turn into tools for peace—reminding us that with the eyes of love, even what feels impossible can be made new.
And Saint Paul puts it this way in our Second Reading (Romans 13: 11-14): The night is nearly over. The day is near. Let us live with honor, like people who walk in the light.
Friends, this is the invitation—simple, strong, and full of hope: Stay awake. Not with fear, but with readiness and love. And so, brothers and sisters, let us step into this holy season with watchful eyes gentle heart and hands that are open for love.
Praise brings readiness. Readiness brings joy. Joy recognizes the Guest.
Blessed be Jesus Christ.