“Wake up!” The father shouted as he knocked on his son’s door. “Jaime, wake up!”

Finally Jaime answered, “I don’t want to get up, Papa.”

So the father shouted back through the closed door, “Get up, you have to go to school.”

“I don’t want to go to school.” The son replied.

“Why not?” asked the father.

“Three reasons,” said Jaime. “First, because it’s so dull; second, the kids tease me; and third, I hate school.”

To which the father replied, “Well, I am going to give you three reasons why you must go to school. First, because it is your duty; second, because you’re 45 years old; and third, because you are the principal.”

Anthony de Mello, a Jesuit priest, tells this story at the beginning of his book, “Awareness.” He uses it to send home his message that in order to lead a spiritual life one has first to wake up. It would be easy for us to stay in bed, especially today with the economic crunch, the price of gas, looming foreclosures, putting food on the table, paying for college, and the many other stressors in our lives. But we are called to wake up to the fact that Christ is here in spite of what we are seeing, to bring us wholeness and health.

Sometimes it comes as the loud knock, the harsh voice, and the cold floor meeting your bare feet when you would rather stay safe and warm in your comfortable bed. Jesus is always saying things to startle his followers into wakefulness. With the continuing violence of our society, fear for the safety of our children, we wonder what the future holds. There are natural disasters, and people dying in peacekeeping efforts. None of it makes any sense. We wonder where God is in all of this. For many people, the events of our own times suggest to them that the end of the world will soon be at hand. They believe that the apocalyptic writings of the Bible — especially the book of Revelation — are a road map for the end of the world. They spend a lot of time trying to match current events with the prophecies contained in those writings.

The problem with that approach is that people have been trying it for centuries, and it hasn’t proven true. Prophecy in those times did not mean foretelling the future, but providing a commentary on the present. We can certainly sympathize with those who look for hard and fast answers, because it can feel like things are so out of control, so awful, that no other resolution is possible but the end of the world as we know it…Feelings that come out of our fear and grief over what’s happening in our lives. Like not being able to go on when a loved one dies. We feel stuck and hopeless, no way out, no way to fix the problem.

In other words, we get anxious. And anxious times breed a search for easy answers. But, there is hope! Do you believe that? Do you truly believe that in the face of everything God is there by your side? Hope and faithfulness can seem like fleeting things, like foolishness, when our lives and our world are in turmoil. How can we be hopeful in the face of tragedy and loss? How can we remain faithful when things seem hopeless, and we are wondering where God is in the midst of our despair?

Jesus encourages us to endure. We are called to work for something that is good, to work for the Kingdom of God. To keep hope alive! When we are in our darkest moments, when it all seems overwhelming, sometimes the best we can do is know that somehow, someway, God will use our suffering and turn it to good. We may not experience it, we may not recognize it, but for someone our experiences may become signs of hope and God’s reign of love.

Trust in God’s promises for you. Wake up and hold on to hope! We are called not to go sit on our rooftops and wait for Christ to come again, or roll over in bed and go back to sleep. We are called in the face of trials and tribulations to be awake with the knowledge of God’s love and care, which gives us, hope to endure. We are called to wake up and face the evil in our world with commitment and trust in our wonderful redeemer and creator. Do you hear this wake up call as a call to greater responsibility of your life and all creation? Or do you hear it as an excuse to give up responsibility, to blame God for everything that’s wrong, and go back to bed?

There’s pain and suffering and tribulation all around us, and those who are awake are called to stay awake — to proclaim the Love of God to those who have no reason to hope, to minister to all those in need, and to get out of bed and serve the Lord with joy and gladness. Jesus wants you to wake up to the fact that the decisions you are making today have eternal weight.

You can roll over and go back to sleep. Or, you can get up and discover you have a job to do. It’s time to get up! Get up and live! Live your life in gratitude as a precious gift from God. Get up and give. Get up and go! Go show others how the Spirit of God is working in you and through you to touch the world with God’s grace. Wake up, people of God, wake up!