Be on watch!

About time and seasons
I always feel that the end of another year suddenly is upon us. It seems time moves faster when the end is near, almost like a runner at once speeding up when the finish is in sight. I like to reflect on a year gone by; the things I accomplished, the chances I missed, the people I met and the areas I have grown in. Even more so, I like to look ahead, anticipating an adventurous new year. I enjoy the expectation that seems to hang in the air as the clock finally moves to the end of the 21st century's first decade. We are already more than 2000 years beyond the human birth of Jesus. His birth changed time and history forever because ever since the manger the world as we know it has been divided in events before and after. Jesus seriously spoke about the times and seasons on several occasions. In Mark 13:32-37 we can read the following:

No one knows, however, when that day or hour will come-neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son; only the father knows. Be on watch, be alert, for you do not know when the time will come. It will be like a man who goes away from home on a trip and leaves his servants in charge, after giving to each his own work to do and after telling the doorkeeper to keep watch. Watch, then, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming-it might be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or at sunrise. If he comes suddenly, he must not find you asleep. What I say to you, then, I say to all: Watch!