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-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at www.usccb.org
-check out this week's LinC Letter on the back of the parish bulletin or at www.saint-albert.org/lincletter
-I will be celebrating mass at 4:00 PM on Saturday and 9:30 AM and 12:30 PM on Sunday
Watch! Or should I say “notification“?
While the word "watch" has many roots in various languages the most familiar from the Bible is the military notion of “watch in the night“. The soldiers on military duty divided the hours of darkness into segments called watches, for example first watch, second watch, third watch… of the night.
I think most of us when we hear the word “watch“ are not thinking of an activity as much as a thing. A watch is a timepiece. In fact, I understand that a watch originally was a small device attached to a clock that functioned as an alarm.
However, in this day and age, what I think of when I hear the word watch is a miniature timepiece that one wears on his wrist, we call it a wristwatch (or at least used to). I guess originally small wearable time pieces were actually pocket watches. These were worn by men in their vest pocket or pants pocket. The innovation of the wristwatch was really a decorative bracelet worn by women. During the first World War at the turn of the 20th century the wristwatch (which the soldiers could observe without holding it in their hand for the ease of synchronizing military actions) became an important part of the soldiers uniform.
Now, the most frequent use for the word watch is a tiny wearable electronic device, a wrist-born gadget called the Apple Watch. And one of the greatest features and innovations of the Apple Watch is “notifications“, little alarms at one's wrist notifying you of an appointment, a message, or an incoming phone call. The feature of notification returns the purpose and functionality of the watch to maybe it’s original use as an “alarm“.
When the craziest innovations of this electronic device at the wrist is the activity monitor. Now the watch/fit bit or what other name you might give to your wrist watch has a whole set of activities steps, movement, heart rate, standup,. Now throughout the day people all around you are getting a little jiggle it the rest reminding them it’s time to stand up , You’ve taken this many steps today, you’ve met your goal for activity, what’s your heart rate. This has brought together the two meanings of watch in the sense that someone is keeping watch and it is happening on your watch. Giving you an alarm about what’s happening at the current time.
The Gospel today on this first Sunday of Advent calls us to watch. So add vent is a particular time and it is a particular notification and it is a particular alarm. Be alert, be awake, be on notice, pay attention, someone is contacting you, it’s time to stand up, you have not met your goal for activity today. . The time is near. The Lord is near. Watch!
2 comments:
Your intro line instantly made me want to see. Watch this, watch me . . . or in Spanish 'mira, mira'. Look, see, pay attention! The word watch as an accessory always calls to my mind a time when I went on a marriage encounter back in '83, before smart phones. We were asked to take off our watches so as to focus on the present. The very last time I wore a watch was the last Saturday in October 1983 when we gained an hour (DST). Watch is a verb to me. I watch, look for the birth of Jesus. Thank you for your thoughts.
I like the reminder that someone is contacting me. Jesus is forever beckoning each one of us, tapping us on the shoulder, waving us in - but we have to notice him doing so. It can be easy to miss his subtleties in creation, or the cry of the poor, or an unfamiliar face; yet we need the reminder of advent to remain faithful to the call to "watch" for him at all times. He always wants us and we can't let ourselves be fooled into thinking he is not in our midst.
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