This coming Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Advent in the new Liturgical Year.  34 It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. 35 Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. 36 May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” 

The imperative of unceasing vigilance is illustrated by the parable of the absent master of the house. A journeying master delegated authority to his servants and assigned each to his work, specifying that the doorkeeper is to watch. The true servant will want to be actively engaged in his Master’s service when he returns. The idea of “return” clearly ties in with the looming parousia and “that day.” The danger is that the master returns suddenly and finds the servant sleeping (v. 36).

It is interesting to note that rather than using the Jewish practice of dividing the night into three watches, Mark uses the Roman practice of four night-watches: evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.

At this point it is good to recall that this entire dialogue, which began in Mark 13:3, began as a question asked privately by Peter, James, John and Andrew, the disciples, to whom he delegated his authority (cf. Mark 6:7; the mission of the 12). But here Jesus’ remarks are addressed to apostles and disciples alike. It is an explicit extension of the exhortation to watch to a wider circle, which Mark undoubtedly understood to include the Christians of Rome. This suggests that it was Jesus’ intention to transcend any distinction between the disciples, to whom he delegated his authority (see on Ch. 6:7), and the Church at large. That which is primarily the duty of the disciple is also the responsibility of the entire community. Each member has “his work” and by completing it he fulfills the obligation to watch. Vigilance is the responsibility of every believer and provides the sole guarantee of preparedness for the Lord’s  return.

“What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” 

The stress upon vigilance sustained throughout the discourse suggests that the final call to watchfulness in verse 37 is not focused exclusively upon the last day, but like the previous admonitions, has bearing upon the continuing life of the Church during an age marked by false teachers, persecution and delay in the Lord’s return. But the focus is not exclusively external to the Church. When our reading is seen in the context of the entire discourse, it is evident that the vigilance of the Church includes perils from within as well as from outside as noted in Mark 13:5–23. The time of the appearance of the Son of Man in glory is unknown, but the fact that he will come is certain. The Church is called to live vigilantly in the certainty of that coming.

Image credit: Christ taking leave of the Apostles, Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1381| Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena | Public Domain US