Stay Awake

“And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

Mark 13:37 

I am not sure who coined the phrase ‘there are no stupid questions’, because the reality is that there are some stupid questions. I learned that first hand growing up when a teacher I had, in an effort to get more engagement from her classroom, told us that there are no stupid questions and asked us to ask her any questions we had on the topic we were studying. We were all allowed to write down our questions on a sheet of paper, fold them up, and toss them into a hat. Each question drawn received an adequate response. However, when my question came up the response from my teacher was, “Ok, I was wrong, there are some stupid questions,” and then she proceeded to the next question as if mine was never asked. You can imagine how glad I was that we had written down our questions.

And just as there are some stupid questions, the same can be said of certain interpretations of Scripture. For example, consider the passage that we are considering today from Marks Gospel, “And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” I recall a conversation on this verse with an individual who explained to me that this verse meant that we were to remain awake physically because if we were asleep and Christ came, we would be left behind (Presumably, he meant heavy sleepers would miss out on Christ’s Second coming since light sleepers, like myself, would awaken at the trumpet sound). He took this claim even further by confirming how he had not slept in the last 2 years so that he would not miss the Lord’s return. He further supported his interpretation from a passage in the very next chapter where Jesus rebukes the disciples for sleeping when they ought to have been praying with him while in the garden.

And as interesting as it may sound, Jesus is not commanding his followers to become purposed insomniacs. Rather, he is commanding them to be vigilant and watchful for the day that he does return. It is because we do not know when Christ is coming and that His word is sure, that we are to be busy about the work that God has called us into. Being woke is not being sensitive to injustices in this world, being woke is living in expectant faithfulness to Jesus. We do not want to be found like those who doubt His return. Nor do we want to be found at his coming living like those who are living lives that are wicked. Because we know that Christ is coming again, we want to live lives that is pleasing to him, preparing ourselves for eternity, and ready for his return. When temptations, doubt, worry, and troubles come your way, do not lose hope and do not be deceived. Do not let anything distract you from fulfilling your task in preaching the gospel and enduring to the end. May he come and find us working for him, and may it be said to each of us ‘well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master’.

Grace and Peace,
Alex Galvez

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