Keep Watch Good Soldier

In all branches of our armed forces two very important rules apply to a soldier on watch,) one a soldier is not to leave his post until properly relieved, and two) he is to be diligent and observant as he is on watch.  There is one very important reason for this, i.e. safety.  The one on watch is responsible not just for himself but his entire platoon or regiment and in some ways the entire division and the entire army itself.

            

That may sound strange, but so too are we, “standing on watch”, if you will.  As Christians we stand on watch for ourselves, but we also stand watch for one another.   What are we to do as we stand on watch?  The prophet Isaiah tells us from today’s first reading “Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways!”  As we prepare for Christmas, and I have said it before, it’s not just about the infant child being born in a manger, but being ready to receive so that He may be born in our hearts.

Advent season is a penitential season, one in which we fast, pray, and offer sacrifice so that we can make ourselves ready for the Lord’s coming.  Isaiah speaks about doing right and being mindful of God in our ways.  I offer you some practical steps in this regard.

            

Doing right is not always the easiest thing to do.  Sometimes we do wrong thinking we are doing right.  Doing right means being honest, forthright, trustworthy, fair and good.  One such example of doing right is to be fair and not to judge according to appearance or bias.  Do we respect all human persons?  Do we truly love our neighbor?  Today there is such great vitriol between people when it comes to discussing immigration, for instance, who can stay in America, who may not, who do we keep out, who do we let in, do we build walls like they did in the ancient days, etc. etc.  What instruction did God give to His people Israel?  “You shall not oppress a resident alien; you well know how it feels to be an alien, since you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.” (Ex. 23:9)  The odd thing is that all Americans are immigrants or descendents of immigrants, the only true Americans are American Indians whom by the way we did not treat so well.

Another example of doing right is that we live out the great commission of Jesus, by doing onto others as we would do onto Jesus Himself.  “Did you visit me when I was in prison, did you clothe me when I was naked, and did you give me food when I was hungry, take care of me when I was sick, and bandage me when I was injured?” Praying for others is good, leaving money in the poor box is good, but it is not enough, not nearly enough.  Am I comfortable in my home and has my home become a bubble that shuts out the rest of the world?  For instance, the poor, the homeless, the down trodden, the prisoner, all of them are out there somewhere far away, which has nothing to do with me, they created their own condition and circumstances in life.  Will you be able to say that to Jesus’ face when you meet Him?  Basically, those folks are not my problem!  Maybe we are the problem for not doing right!

Christmas is about holly, cheer, lights, trees, wrapped presents, good Old Saint Nick with his reindeer, and trust me I love all of that stuff, I still have a Santa I put on my desk every year during Advent.  But that only scratches the surface; true Christmas is about preparing oneself in doing right and being mindful of the ways of God.  God Himself was born in a manger and a stable out in the middle of nowhere.  Would you have gone out to see Him, or would the infant have been one of those poor people we keep outside of our bubble?  Would you have let Mary and Joseph into your home so that the baby Jesus could be born in your house if you had no idea who they were?  Would I have sent them away?  If I was a good soldier I would have been keeping watch, I would have recognized that fellow soldiers were in need and would have invited them in, because when I keep watch the right way I am on alert for doing good and being mindful of God’s ways and not my own.  That’s Christmas, doing good and keeping watch!  Are you ready to keep watch this Advent?