And Peace to All Men of Good Will

Mark 13:33-37

The Master's Sudden Return

Happy New Year and happy new missal!

As the churches I attend have started phasing in the new mass, I have been at first a bit upset and then thoroughly won over by two of the changes - the Gloria and "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you/that you should enter into my house." I have been thinking about how I want to do this season's reflections, and I was thinking on Sunday I would write about the new mass parts - but I'm not sure that's really enough. So I think I will continue to reflect on the gospels. And then for the weekday reflections, well, I should do the daily mass gospels.

But, as a special treat, I think I can make this one work for both the Gloria change and the gospel. I've been thinking about this since I went to mass yesterday evening, so here goes.

I remember always being really worried about this gospel when I was little - and often a lot of guilt when I went to bed that night because there it was, right in the gospel, Don't Sleep Ever!

I think this is one of the gospels that we try to dampen, soften. Of course, Katy, you're supposed to sleep. You're human. It's okay. We sleep sometimes. But Jesus goes on at length - it's not just 'keep watch at night,' it's "whether in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow or in the morning." Technically, I suppose you could catch a catnap early afternoon, but the story exhaustively tells you that you must never ever sleep, you must never ever stop doing what God has set you to do. You don't get to take a break because you're exhausted and haven't slept since He left.

You don't get to take a vacation because you've been doing charity work for years without ceasing - you have to power through cockcrow after that all nighter.

We don't get to use the world's logic - that sin is inevitable, that everyone needs a break sometimes, that we're just human. We are called to the extraordinary measures. We are called to work without ceasing. We are called to serve always, without rest. We are called to constant toil and readiness. We are called to never sleep.

Which brings me to the change in the Gloria. It hit my ear in an almost frightening way the first time - the change from "peace to all people's on earth" to "peace to men of good will." I blinked several times, stopped short - and then I thought. Yes, peace to all men of good will and courage to fight all the rest of them.

Not for vengeance, of course, but to stop them. And then we can all have peace.

And here too we are held to a different standard than you hear out in the rest of the world - peace at any cost. Peace and mutual understanding and tolerance of all - often regardless of human suffering. Making deals with dictators to preserve peace. That's probably the best a president can do - but it's not what Christians are called to do. We are called to fight, constantly, any oppression, any atrocity, any inhumanity. Always. Without ceasing. To fight off all weariness, all apathy, all misguided attempts at a dirty peace.

Peace to all men of good will and a hell of a fight to those who oppress.

We aren't allowed to sleep.

It's a hard week, but it's how we start the year: with a challenge. Until Jesus returns all the injustice in the world is on us. Collectively. We are all responsible for it because we should all be fighting it. Without ceasing. Without rest. Past the long dark of midnight and through the cockcrow and in the early morning when the dust has settled, we are to be awake and vigilant and about our task making sure that something worse is not put in the place of what we have torn down.

We don't get to rest.

And my little excuse - that I have no idea what to do - doesn't work either. After all, the servants were told their jobs. So, Lord, I'm listening really hard. You know, when I haven't dozed off. I'm working on it.