We were made for works of mercy, not naps

Readings for the First Sunday of Advent

Sloth is one of the seven deadly sins. To the early Christian monks, they called spiritual sloth the ‘noon day devil.’ Spiritual sloth is the sense that all is well, no need to change, all I have to do is coast. We may passionately pursue various successes in our life or cable news, but as to our spiritual life, we think we have all our sacraments and we just need to wait it out for the eternal paycheck. Jesus, however, regards sloth as the spiritual killer.

Today we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent and the Lord repeats his command against sloth. The disciples didn’t take his advice to heart. They thought he was talking about some distant end-time. But disaster was already upon them while they slept. Today’s Gospel is from Mark.

The Gospel of Mark 13
Mark’s Gospel is about the high energy mission of Jesus. Whenever, the Lord exorcises a demon, forgives a sinner, heals a leper or walks on water, he is immediately on to his next task. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is on a mission and he doesn’t have any time to waste. To understand the story today, to absorb his command to “watch,” we have to go to the beginning of Chapter 13. Jesus has entered Jerusalem, cleansed the Temple and then, one of the disciples looking at the splendor of the Temple said to him

As he was making his way out of the temple area one of his disciples said to him, “Look, teacher, what stones and what buildings!” Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down.” As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple area, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be when all these things are about to come to an end?” Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one deceives you. Mark 13:1-2.

There on the Mount of Olives, Jesus told his disciples that the Temple would be destroyed and not a stone would be left upon a stone. There would be wars and famines and the ‘desolation abomination’ standing where it should not be. Mk. 13:14. Jesus instructed his followers to flee the mountains when these things happened. Then there would be persecution of his followers.

Remember the original question? When would the Temple be destroyed?

Ancient historians Josephus and Suetonius talked about the Jewish war provoked by another messiah wannabe after Jesus’ death. As the direct result of one more messiah, the Temple was destroyed about 37 years after Jesus spoke these words. Jews blamed Christians for fleeing the city and not helping defend it against the advancing Roman legions. Those legions, after they tore down the Temple stone by stone, erected their camp on the Temple mounts and offered pagan sacrifices. They renamed Jerusalem Capitolina, a name that stuck for a few centuries after the destruction by the Legions. Jesus did foretell the end of the world, but in this passage he is referring to the destruction of first century Israel, its Temple and its way of life. Then, after that, the Son of Man would come in “his glory” and angels would be sent out to gather the ‘elect’,  He concludes his prophecy, “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Mk. 13:32

He finished making this prophecy and then told his disciples three times to “watch” that they be not caught unawares.  Three times he told his disciples to be ‘watchful’ and “may he not come and find you sleeping.” Mk. 13:35  Then, true to Markan form, the events leading up to Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection begin.

The Garden of Gethsemane
Behind the scenes, unknown to the apostles, the Pharisees and Sadducees are conspiring together against Jesus. A woman anointed him for his death as he had dinner with Pharisees. He then celebrated Passover with all his disciples, one of whom would betray him. After supper, they walked across the Kidron Valley singing hymns and entered the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus asked his disciples to watch with him. He said, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch.” Mk. 14:34.

Remember the question the disciples asked Jesus concerning when the Temple would be destroyed. He then told them three times to “watch” because they do not know “when the time would come.”  And now, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he asked them to watch with him. Three times he prayed and three times, if you remember the story, he woke his disciples from sleep and asked them again to ‘watch.’ After the third time his betrayer and some soldiers came to arrest him. He was taken off to be crucified. So, the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed almost forty years later but the temple of Jesus’s body was destroyed the next day and raised up on the third day. Angels were sent out, the Church, to gather the elect. The Greek word, ‘angelos’ means ‘messenger’ and that is how the apostles described themselves and the king that sent them. So, why this passage on the First Sunday of Advent? Jesus warns us against the deadly sin of sloth.

Spiritual sloth
St. Thomas Aquinas taught that sloth “denotes sorrow for spiritual good, it is evil on two counts, both in itself and in point of its effect.” Summa Theologica, Question 35, Second Part of the Second Part. The sign of spiritual sloth is when you are lazy about spiritual things; prayer, fasting, mass, study, but you can find plenty of time for other diversions up to an including whatever nonsense is on cable or the internet. The slothful excel at diversions.

America’s most deadly sin might well be sloth expressed as indifference to the spiritual life. In a culture that trumpets relativism, apatheism is indifference to spiritual matters. A-pathos comes from the Latin without meaning ‘without feeling.’ If nothing is true, nothing matters and so, “whatever.”  Catholics who shirk spiritual duties like attendance at mass might well be suffering from sloth. What is the cure for sloth? Perseverance, zeal and attentiveness to duty. In short, ‘watch.’

Perseverance in thought
Why do priests where black? Black is supposed to remind us of our death and death is the end of our service to God. Death is good if we have been who God made us to be, but if not, death may not be so good. Saint Basil wrote that the chief mark of the Christian “is to watch daily and hourly and to stand prepared in that state of total responsiveness pleasing to God, knowing that the Lord will come at an hour that we do not expect.”  St. John Henry Newman wrote

“God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.

How do we escape being angels of peace, preachers of truth and keepers of commandments? First, by avoiding the grumpiness feeds our sloth and dishearten others. The cure for grumpiness is to remind ourself that we could be dead and at your final judgment. Better that we are here supporting each other in the life of faith.  For Advent, try giving up grumpiness. Here is a good spiritual work – for the season of Advent give up correcting others. Yes, you are right, maybe they need it, especially you spouse. Consider, however, this is not the work God has chosen for you.

Perseverance in Word
Vigilance is the mark of a Christian but probably very few of us, when we woke up this morning, seriously considered the possibility that the world might end today. It is true, that the world as a whole might not end today, but my little part in it can come to its end anytime and abruptly.  So why grumble? The one thing St. Benedict couldn’t tolerate in a monk is grumbling. He said that grumbling “spreads strife” and “separates close friends” (Prov 16:28). Grumbling makes us and others restless and angry ”idlers, gadding about from house to house, and not only idlers but gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not” (1 Tim 5:13). St. John Chrysostom wrote, “It is better to do nothing than to do it with murmuring, for even the very thing itself is spoilt. . . . For murmuring is intolerable, most intolerable; it borders upon blasphemy. . . . It is a proof of ingratitude; the murmurer is ungrateful to God.” For perseverance in word, try this Advent to keep your opinion to yourself. Yes, your opinion may be spot on, however, in all Christian charity, possible the world is not yet ready to hear it.

Perseverance in Deed
Our action will undermine the demon of grumpiness. The spiritual and corporal works of mercy are the Christian duties that call us constantly to watchfulness and perseverance. The sloth of our culture is expressed in apathy and indifference. These manifestations of generalized spiritual sloth undermine charity and energy by substituting grumpiness as action. Why complain when we might be able to make the world a better place by action. We can join into the generalized apathy of our time through diversions such as griping at the boob tube or burning someone else neighborhood. Constantly planting ourselves in front of the tube, anxious to hear the next disturbing tidbit is not really a step in a positive direction. Our anxiety fools us into thinking we actually care and are doing something when we gripe. It is merely a diversion from the work of being whom God made us to be. Diversions are a tactic of the Satanic in our life and community. To persevere in deed is to undertake this Advent some act of spiritual or corporal mercy striking against spiritual sloth assault on our soul.

The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.  Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God. CCC 2447

Try being charitable to another person in traffic or in the line at the supermarket or participating in the giving tree in the parish Narthex.

When Jesus told us to ‘watch’ he expected that his disciples would be about the Father’s business. He called them to prayer, not drowsiness. Naps are nice, but we were not created for naps but for the works of mercy. Pray for those most in need, empty your closet as an act of fraternal charity. Be attentive, be watchful, the Lord will return when each of us least expects it.