We're still waiting

Jesus, help me fill my waiting time with being good and helping people. Amen!

Jesus told a crowd, "The end of the world is going to catch you by surprise, just like the flood caught everyone but Noah, who had built his ark. If two people are working or making bread, one will be taken to heaven; the other will be left. So, be ready, because you don't know when the end of the world is coming."

At Thanksgiving, there is lots of waiting -- for the turkey and desserts, for example. Now, more waiting has started. Waiting for good food is hard enough, but soon it will be Advent, and we will begin waiting for Christmas -- and trying to be good while we wait!

This week's Gospel (Mt. 24: 37-44) is also about waiting: in this case, waiting for the end of the world. That's actually worse than waiting for Christmas, because we know when Christmas is, but we have no idea when the world is going to end.

Waiting for Christmas can be tough because it's a time to be extra-good -- your parents sometimes warn that Santa is watching -- and because there's so much to look forward to. Christmas means Jesus is born, and people celebrate with presents, food and visits to relatives and friends. It's different than any other time of year.

Of course, we're supposed to be good all the time, because when the world ends someday, Jesus will come back -- and He's hoping to find lots of good people to take to heaven. That doesn't mean never making mistakes, just that we apologize and try to do better when we're wrong.

There are interesting things to do while we wait during Advent: lighting candles on an Advent wreath, making presents for people we love, helping the poor who don't have money to celebrate during the holidays.

While we wait for Jesus to come back, we can do interesting things, too: learn about praying, try to get closer to God and keep on helping people, even when our wait for Christmas is over.