Gospel & Reflection for Mass of Remembrance 2025
Matthew 24:37-44
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.
‘So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’
Reflection
Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting For Godot’ is one of the world’s most renowned and popular of plays. From its French premier in 1953 to its English premier in 1955, it has constantly been performed and reimagined globally ever since. It is considered a work of immense cultural significance and is a favourite of many of our world’s famous actors.
The play focuses on two characters, down and outs called Vladimir and Estragon. They sit around a leafless tree waiting for the arrival of a mysterious figure known as Godot, who they are convinced will save them. As they wait, they try to recall what their meeting is all about. They know that it is important and that their salvation depends on Godot’s arrival, but that is all that they can remember. They do not know what Godot even looks like, trying to work out at the beginning if the other was in fact this Godot. So, they wait. But their waiting is marked by a lack of clarity about why they are waiting and what they should do in the meantime.
They get caught up in a cycle of aimless conversation, pointless actions, and fading hope. It gets worse for them because Godot never appears, at least not in person. Each act ends with a messenger boy announcing that Godot will surely come, he will come tomorrow. The tragedy is that for Vladimir and Estragon, in their waiting and increasing despair, they fail repeatedly to see the significance of Godot’s messenger, and other hints of Godot’s presence. They do not see how the once leafless tree has suddenly sprouted leaves, a subtle sign of life, hope, and presence. They remain blind to the signs all around them, and in the end, they remain on a darkened stage, still waiting, unsure of what to do next.
The theme of waiting is also at the centre of the short but holy season of Advent. Our Gospel for this first Sunday remembers Christ’s call to us all to “stay awake” and “stand ready.” Yet, unlike Vladimir and Estragon, who waited with bleak uncertainty and despair, our Christian waiting is vastly different. We are waiting, but we wait with bright and joyful hope and expectation. We know who we are waiting for and we know exactly what we must do as we wait.
We are waiting to celebrate the Incarnation, the arrival of Christ into the world, and His arrival daily into our lives.
Our waiting is so that we can look at our lives and the way that we live to see if we are properly prepared in mind, heart, and soul to move forward to meet Him, as He moves to meet us.
As we wait, we strive to live each day as God wants us to live by being alert to anything in our present that can have no place in God’s future for us and trying to change.
Friends, every day, we walk in the light and presence of the Lord. Advent is our time to open our awareness to that light like never before. It challenges us to be attentive to the glimpses and significance of that which happens around us, and the people who are in our lives. These events and people are hints to God’s presence and are signs of His blessings. Knowing these blessings should then help us to avoid aimless conversations, pointless actions, any sense of hopelessness, and instead allow our blessings to give us a greater sense of appreciation, priority, and purpose for ourselves and those around us.
So, let us give our hearts to Christ once more this season, grateful for all that He has done and continues to do in our lives. Let us capture Christ in a real and meaningful way and live by His example. In doing so, we are living in the light, avoiding the darkness, and no matter then the hour, we are ready to meet Christ when He comes.
Fr. Richard
