Scripture Scribbles: November 30, 2025
the Gospel
Matthew 24:37-44
Jesus said to his disciples:
"As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
the scribble
Are you awake?
It’s a question I think we’d all like to respond yes to. And I am sure that most, if confronted, would respond affirmatively.
I think often we hear this scripture passage for today and our immediate response is either defensiveness or fear.
But I wonder: What if instead, this Advent, we let the Lord reveal the answer for us?
Perhaps the readings for today are an invitation, rather than merely a warning or an accusation.
This Sunday, as we begin a new liturgical year, I can feel Him inviting me to turn the page in a number of different fronts of my life. To let certain things go. To surrender certain outcomes to Him and His timing, His provision. To forgive. To start anew. To revel. To relax. To wonder. To play.
Sometimes, I think we overcomplicate the Lord and His message for each of us. We think we need to do more, to try harder, to fear we aren’t doing enough. When, in reality, we simply need to allow Him to abide in us.
I’ve been contemplating the birth of Jesus. How He came to us in the middle of a big ol’ mess. This year, the Lord has had me on a journey alongside Our Lady and the messy path she walked to bring forth the Savior into the world.
The nativity wasn’t Mary’s “Plan A”.
She had a plan for Christ’s birth, and what ended up happening was not, in fact, her plan. It was not her original “ideal.” We know, at the very least, that she and Joseph tried to stay at a guest house for the birth, but were denied entry. As a result, they were forced to let go of their own plans and to let God reveal His own to them. They had to trust and surrender their own ways in favor of His.
I can only imagine what might have been going through their heads as they looked around at the mud, the mess, the animals, the hay. This surely couldn’t be God’s plan, could it? And yet, holy people as they were, they trusted. They said yes, even when nothing around them seemed to make sense, from a worldly point of view.
Today, I can feel the Lord asking me to do the same. With certain situations in my life, certain unmet needs. I can hear Him today in the readings, asking me to let go of my own plans, my own predictions for how something might happen, or when something might happen, to instead trust Him. To allow Him the room in my heart to enter in, to be born anew.
And when we allow Him in we don’t need to worry, to fear, to be concerned with doing more. No, when we allow Him to reign in our hearts we can trust that every detail will be accounted for. We listen, we receive His direction, and we follow the path that He leads for us. We can trust that His ways are far greater than anything our hearts or minds can dream up for ourselves.
So today, as we enter into a new year in the Church, my invitation for you is to bring this question forward to the Lord.
Ask Him:
Lord, am I awake?
I want to be awake, but I am just not sure. Please enter into my heart. Into my mind. Lead me and guide me. Help me to surrender my ways for Your own. Show me the way. Open my eyes. Open my heart. Help me to trust in You. To wait to hear Your voice and to say yes to whatever You may reveal for me in the year ahead.
Amen.
Today’s devotion was written by Rachel Smith
