A 10–15 minute Advent reflection

Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 121(122):1-2,4-5,6-9; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44

Today is the First Sunday of Advent—the beginning of the Church’s year.
And the very first word the Church gives us is: Wake up.

Not “be cozy.”
Not “ease into the holidays.”
But Wake up.
Be alert. Open your eyes.
Something is coming.
Someone is coming.

And the way Scripture tells the story today, this awakening is not optional.
It is the difference between remaining asleep in the old world—or stepping into the new creation God desires for us.

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1. Isaiah’s Mountain: The Call of the Hero at Dawn

The prophet Isaiah begins with a vision of the “days to come.”
He sees Mount Zion—the Temple mountain—lifted above all other mountains.
Nations stream toward it.
People without number ascend the hill saying:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord… that he may teach us his ways.”

This is the biblical version of the call to adventure—the moment in every great myth when humans are summoned upward, summoned out of the ordinary world and toward a divine encounter.

The mountain is a universal symbol in myth:

• Mount Olympus for the Greeks
  
• Mount Meru in Hindu cosmology
  
• Sinai for Moses
  
• Tabor for Christ
  

The mountain always represents the highest meaning, the place where heaven and earth meet, where God reveals Himself, and where human beings are changed.

Isaiah’s point is clear:
Humanity’s future is not down in the valley of violence, distraction, and conflict.
Our future is an ascent.
A pilgrimage.
A transformation.

Psychologically, this ascent points to the integration of the self—the movement from fragmentation to unity, from instinct-driven living (the lower brain layers) toward a life governed by truth, conscience, and grace (the highest faculties).

Isaiah describes the result of this ascent:

“They shall beat their swords into ploughshares.”

This is transformation—not by force, but by teaching, by truth, by hearing God.
The weapons of self-destruction become the tools of cultivation.
What once harmed now heals.

This is what happens when a person climbs the mountain of the Lord.

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2. “I Rejoiced When I Heard Them Say”: The Joy of a Heart That Is Waking Up

The psalm today echoes the upward movement:

“I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’”

This is the joy of someone who has heard the call.
Someone whose feet are already on the path.
Someone who has realized:
My home is not here. My destiny is above.

Psychologically, this is the movement from numbness to desire.
From apathy to longing.
From spiritual sleep to spiritual hunger.

St. Augustine described it as the “weight of love” lifting the soul upward.

Every Hero’s Journey begins—not with skill or strength—but with desire, the dawning awareness that “There must be more.”

Advent awakens that desire.

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3. St. Paul: “Wake Up Now” — The Battle Between Night and Day

Then St. Paul tells us plainly:

“You know the time.
The night is almost over.
The day is at hand.
Wake up now.”

Paul speaks here like a drill sergeant of the soul.
He knows we like comfort.
We like the dark because our weaknesses hide there.
But Paul says:

“Give up the things done under cover of darkness…
and put on the armor of light.”

This is spiritual psychology at its sharpest.

The “night” represents:

• impulsivity
  
• old habits
  
• addictions
  
• self-deception
  
• sin we have learned to tolerate
  

The “day” represents:

• clarity
  
• responsibility
  
• moral courage
  
• virtue
  
• the renewing power of Jesus Christ
  

Paul says:
Do not wait until you feel ready. Light never begins with readiness.
It begins with decision.

Mythologically, this is the moment when the hero must leave home.
Leave comfort.
Leave childishness.
The doorway to the adventure is dawn—and dawn always interrupts our sleep.

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4. Jesus in the Gospel: The Flood Comes to the Spiritually Asleep

Now Christ speaks the hardest words of the day:

“As in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

People were living as if nothing mattered:

• eating
  
• drinking
  
• marrying
  
• working
  

None of these are evil.
The problem is not the activities—it is the unconsciousness with which people lived.

They were asleep inside their own lives.

The Flood did not simply wash away bodies—it washed away illusions.
It revealed who was awake and who was not.

Then Jesus gives His teaching with startling urgency:

“Stay awake…
Stand ready…
The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

This is not meant to frighten us—it is meant to awaken us.

Jesus is not warning about the end of the world;
He is warning about the end of your illusions.
The end of self-deception.
The end of sleepwalking through life.

In psychological terms, Jesus is calling us to conscious living—to a life where we no longer hide behind distraction, addiction, work, or noise.

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5. The Hero’s Journey of Advent

Advent is the beginning of the Church’s New Year, but it is also the beginning of your own Hero’s Journey.

The pattern is always the same:

1. The Call — “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.”
   
2. The Awakening — “I rejoiced when I heard them say…”
   
3. The Separation — “The night is almost over… put on the armor of light.”
   
4. The Testing — “Stay awake, for you do not know the hour…”
   
5. The Transformation — Christ born in the soul, illuminating everything.
   
6. The Return — A transformed life that brings peace and grace to others.
   

Mythologies echo this pattern because they echo the deepest truth of the human spirit:
We were made for ascent.
We were made for God.

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6. A Call to Action: How to Begin Your Advent Awakening

Here is the practical challenge of the Gospel:

1. Identify where you are asleep.

Where have you allowed routine, distraction, or sin to dull your conscience?
What parts of your life run on autopilot?

2. Begin one concrete act of awakening.

• Set a real prayer time.
  
• Go to Confession.
  
• Fast from a comfort that keeps you numb.
  
• Read Scripture daily.
  
• Reconcile with someone.
  

3. Put on the armor of light.

Don’t wait to “feel holy.”
Act first.
The feelings follow.

4. Live today as if the Lord is near—because He is.

Advent is not pretend.
It is training.
It is rehearsal for the real coming of Christ—
in death,
in judgment,
in the Eucharist,
in grace,
in the quiet call of conscience.

5. Make this Advent your turning point.

Advent is not about nostalgia.
It is about awakening.

Christ does not want to catch you off guard.
He wants to find you alive.

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7. Conclusion: Walk in the Light of the Lord

Isaiah ends his vision with a simple command:

“O house of Jacob, come—
let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

This is the entire Gospel in one sentence.

Walk.
Move.
Begin.
Awaken.
Step toward the mountain.
Let the Lord teach you His ways.
Let His light pierce your darkness.
Let Christ become your armor.

And when the Son of Man comes—today, tomorrow, or at the end of your life—may He find you wide awake, standing ready, rejoicing to enter the house of the Lord.

Amen.

Developed with assistance from ChatGPT-5