I'm coming!

First Sunday of Advent “B” Mark 13:33-37 Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a one traveling abroad. Leaving home and places the servants in charge, each with one’s own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” * * * * When I first began to study Spanish one of the words that I had the most trouble with was the word, “ahorita!” What does “ahorita” mean? “¡Ahorita voy!” Ahorita te lo voy a pagar.” It is because Ahorita isn’t so much a Word as it is a concept, a way of living your life. It is a reality that American’s concept of time is different from a Mexican’s concept of time, and it is important for us to realize that no one concept is better, they are just different. Mexicans in general live in the present moment, as did Jesus and the people of his culture. Americans, in general live in the future. For a Mexican what is important is what they are doing right now, the people they are with and how they spend their time. For Americans what is important is what they are going to do, the people they will be with and to make sure they have enough time and money for whatever you will do later. For me a good example was when I was pastor of parish in Liberal, Kansas. A small town with one Catholic Church. We had mass at 9:00 in English on Sunday morning. When I arrived at 8 to open the church doors people were already waiting in the parking lot. People would always come early for the mass, but they would leave early too! Something that almost no Mexican would do, many would leave right after communion. There was a door in the front of the Church and many people would come up for communion, receive the body of Christ and they would head right out the door. I challenged the people, “why are you leaving early?” Many would say, “we are going out for breakfast after mass, we want to get to the restaurant before it gets too crowded.” Others would say they had to get to work, or someone was coming over. The point was they were looking to the future, they weren’t present to the here and now! The Spanish Mass was at 11:00. Some people would come early but many times at 11 we would still be looking for ministers. “Who is going to do the first reading? Lupe isn’t here.” We need more communion ministers. Mass would begin at 11 but at 11:30 people would still be coming into Church. But you know what? No one would ever leave early. People wouldn’t leave after communion they would stay until the end. And many times, they would stay afterwards talking in the entrance way, buying tamales, or drinking coffee. The Mexican people were able to live in the present moment. Again, no way is better than the other. And not all Mexicans or Americans are the same. Some Mexicans arrive early, and some Americans stay late. Neither is right or wrong, they are just different. They are different approaches to time. Today Jesus is saying to us: “ahorita voy” ya mero voy a regresar.” “I’ll be back in a minute.” The Mexican finds this easy to understand. Jesus is saying when the time is right, he will be return. The American finds this hard to understand because he wants an exact time. He doesn’t want Jesus to say, “I’m coming!” He wants Jesus to say, “I’ll be there December 25th, 2023, at 5:15 in the morning. People who live in the present moment need to think more about the future, even if only tomorrow, just as we Americans who are always thinking about tomorrow need to be reminded to think about the present, the person they are with now, what they are doing at this moment. In Mark’s Gospel Jesus is urging us his followers to be ever watchful for the return of Jesus. It is our faith that Jesus will return, and he will expect to be welcomed with love and joy! Are we ready? “Ahorita voy!”