ALARM!

It happened earlier this week. I went up to roof to get a better view of a film-shooting going on in the park in front of my townhome. And as I opened the door to the roof, the alarm went off—I had forgotten the system was on. I scampered back down, hit the appropriatte buttons, turned off the wailing banshee, and went back up to watch the proceedings outside. What I didn’t know was that the alarm had gone through to the monitoring company. And I didn’t hear their phone call to find out if there really was an emergency.

Within a matter of minutes, I noticed a blue and white squad car of ye olde city’s police force come up to my door. I scampered downstairs again. Two of Dallas’ finest, clad in black, fire-armed and fierce-looking, demanded my ID and proof that I belonged here. Satisfied, they presented me with a bright red warning: “False Alarm Notification.” Thankfully, the City of Dallas allows a few false alarms without penalty.

I am glad the cops showed up—and quite quickly at that: I was profuse in both my apology and gratitude. That “False Alarm Notification” informed me that more than 98% of such alarms were, indeed, false. But our police force responds to all of them. Alert and watchful! Just in case!

We, too, could do with alertness and watchfulness in our spiritual lives, lest we become complacent and cozy, smug and self-satisfied.

Therefore let him who thinks he stands
take heed that he does not fall.
1 Corinthians 10:12

It is easy to wander; it is easy go astray; it is easy to stumble—our inbuilt default options of the flesh.

Jesus warned his disciples (thrice) about the importance of non-complacent alertness:

“Take heed, keep on the alert;
for you do not know
when the appointed time will come.
It is like a man away on a journey,
who upon leaving his house
and putting his slaves in charge,
assigning to each one his task,
also commanded the doorkeeper
to be watchful.
Therefore, be on the alert—
for you do not know when
the master of the house is coming …
in case he should come suddenly
and find you asleep.
What I say to you I say to all,
‘Be on the alert!’”
Mark 13:33–37

So it’s rather ironic that in the very next chapter of Mark, in Gethsemane, the disciples are caught (thrice!) doing exactly what Jesus had warned them about. And just as in Mark 13, here in Mark 14 too, there is a “watching,” a “coming,” a “finding,” and a “sleeping.”

And He said to them,
“My soul is deeply grieved
to the point of death;
remain here and keep watch.”
And He went a little beyond,
and fell to the ground and prayed ….
And He came and
found them sleeping, and said …
“Keep watching and praying
that you may not come into temptation;
the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Mark 14:34–35, 37–38

Indeed, the flesh is weak. We need help.

But I say, walk by the Spirit,
and you will not carry out
the desire of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16

As Jerome (347–420 A.D.) said long ago:

“We do well to watch heedfully
and pray earnestly
‘lest we enter into temptation.’
For if Christ does not grant us grace,
then the Judas in us betrays.
If he [Christ] departs a little way from us,
the Peter in us sleeps.”
Homilies

May God’s grace keep us awake and alert!