Isaiah 63:16-17; 64:1, 3-8 / 1 Cor 1:3-9 / Mark 13:33-37
Whenever we talk about memory, we would presume that it is associated with the mind.
Yes, the mind has a memory, but it is not about how much memory and certainly different from the computer memory which can be measured in gigabytes.
The memory of the mind is about how deeply things are remembered, as well as how often things are repeated, so that they go deeper and deeper into the memory.
It is from the memory of the mind that our habits and routines are formed and the more we do them, the more our lives are shaped accordingly.
That is how dancers remember the choreography. They listen to the music, they learn the steps and the movements, and then they practice until the dancer and the dance become one.
Sometimes it is called “muscle memory” where each part of the body responds to the music accordingly.
But it is not just in dancing. It is also in speech and in singing. The mind remembers how the words are pronounced, or what the note sounds like, and then subsequently and consequently the tongue and the vocal cords produce the sound.
So we see “muscle memory” being activated in speaking, in singing and in dancing, and also in the wider spectrum of our habits and routines.
And with repetition, there will come about a union, where the person and the action become one.
Today’s Gospel passage is so appropriate as we begin the new liturgical cycle of Year B.
Jesus says this: Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come.
That message of Jesus is so appropriate for us the Church, because for a number of months this year, our habits and routines have been drastically disrupted.
It is not just our daily habits and routines that are disrupted and changed. Our spiritual habits and routines have been disrupted and changed.
The churches have been closed for some time earlier this year, and we can’t come to church for our weekly Sunday Mass or for other religious activities.
Even though Masses have resumed, we can come only once or twice a month for Mass.
And even then, Mass is not like before. There is no singing and we can’t sit at our favourite pews.
Yes, so many things have changed and things keep changing, so much so that we are forgetting what it was like before.
Yes, we are slowly forgetting our spiritual habits and routines. We are also slowly forgetting the names of our fellow parishioners because we have not met them for some time already.
Yes, we are forgetting and forgetting, and then with nothing much to remember, we are slowly getting sleepy and then we start sleeping and sleeping.
So on this 1st Sunday of Advent, Jesus does not ring the “Jingle Bells”, but He rings the alarm bells.
Jesus tells us to be on our guard, to stay awake, to keep watch and prepare for a joyful renewal of our faith and our lives.
And we must cry out to the Lord in the words of the 1st reading: Lord, do not leave us to stray from Your ways and harden our hearts against fearing You.
And we also implore the Lord: Oh that You would tear the heavens and come down.
So let us remember the Advent hymns, and we cry out: “O come, O come, Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel”. Oh yes, remember how we have been like captives in our own homes.
We remember as we sing “O Come Divine Messiah, the world in silence waits the day, when hope shall sing its triumph, and sadness flees away.
The Lord will hear our cries and He will tear the heavens and rain down abundant blessings.
So let us not sleep and forget. Let us stay awake and remember.
Let every tongue cry out to the Lord, and let us prepare to sing “Joy to the World” as we look forward with hope that our hearts will dance in celebration of the birth of Jesus our Saviour.