Skydiving for Jesus: The First Sunday of Advent

It's Advent, Try Skydiving!
by Fr. Jim Schmitmeyer

Do you dream very often?
Some people remember their dreams, some don’t.

I myself don’t remember many,
but the ones I do remember
tend to be the kind where you find yourself
looking over a ledge or you’re standing on a cliff then suddenly you’re falling.
(I’m always glad I wake up before I hit the ground!)

Do you ever dream that something is chasing you?
You’re running as fast as you can from a bear.
Then, on your right, a lion leaps toward you.
On your left a snarling tiger!

Then you wake up. Sit up in bed. Look around the room.
In the light of day, what seemed so frightening
is nothing to be afraid of.
The day lies open before you.
Time to get up and go to work.

Sounds a bit like today’s gospel.
In today’s passage from Mark, Jesus tells a story about a man
who leaves on a journey.
He assigns his workers certain tasks to perform
then tells them not to fall asleep on the job.

Sounds something like a parent
yelling upstairs to the kids,
“Wake up! There’s work to be get done.”

So, which would you rather be?
Drowsy or Alert?

Which would prefer:
being awake and productive…
or running for your life from tigers in your sleep?

The point of today’s gospel is that a true believer
faces life fully alert.
What does it mean to be alert?

Last night, at the homily reflection group
we were talking about being “alert,”
when a young woman from our parish
spoke of the time she went sky-diving.
Soon, everyone in the room was on the edge of their seats.

Well, jumping out of plane
is one example of being intensely alert.
(If that doesn’t wake you up, nothing will!)

But, what’s it mean to be alert spiritually?

Well, unfortunately, we don’t usually put religion
into the same category as extreme sports.

But don’t be deceived.

Giving your life over to Christ
can be just as exciting;
more demanding,
more exhilarating than strapping on a parachute and jumping out a plane.

The challenge of Jesus’ words
has led some people to pack up and leave for a foreign country
in order to preach the gospel.

It’s led some folks to minister in the slums,
others to minister to the sick and dying.

This is the type of work
that requires staying awake and staying alert.

To be on the alert, that is,
for expecting the Lord any second…
no matter where you are or what you do,
that’s what it means to be a true believer.

Never mind jumping out of a plane,
downhill skiing
repelling off a cliff.
These are all exciting things to do
but do they really compare to giving one’s life…one’s entire life
over to the will of God?

It might be great fun sailing a boat across a lake
or jumping a hill on a motorbike.
But what about that moment
on a certain day,
you sense the Lord saying to you:
“Leave your toys behind, Mike.
Leave your family and your home, Denise.
I’m going to take you where you have never been before.”

And where will that be?
Well, who knows?
You yourself won’t know…unless…
unless you stay alert.

Encounters like this ---with the Lord--- can happen anytime.

And if we’re alert
they start to happen
all the time.