When I was in high school, our home was robbed. Someone broke in and took several costly items. They seem to have known exactly what they were looking for. Only a few extremely valuable things were missing. Nothing else was disturbed.

My parents couldn't figure out who would do such a thing, or how it happened. Did they leave the door unlocked? Had they told someone about the items and where they were? After this, we rarely left the house unattended, and double checked that it was locked whenever we left.

"Therefore, stay awake," Jesus tells his followers. "For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into."

Jesus uses the analogy of having one's home robbed to urge his followers to be prepared for his return. If any of us were warned in advance that our home was going to be robbed, we would stand guard day and night.

Now, I would imagine that if you were convinced that "the coming of the Son of Man" was about to take place, you would do everything possible to be prepared. What could be more important?

Well, we have been told that Jesus will return. We have been told that it could happen at any time. Yet I don't pay much attention to these warnings. I am not really prepared for this to take place.

Advent is the season of preparation. We are called to be prepared for the arrival of Christ in our world and our lives, not just for a final cataclysmic event, but to also be prepared to see and embrace his presence each day. Jesus promised not only to return to usher in the end of all things; he also told us that he would be with us always, available as a comforting presence in times of trouble, and as a challenging presence in times of complacency.

He is with us when we gather in prayer. He is with us in the stranger who asks for a cup of water. Our challenge is not to determine the time and place of Christ's final arrival. Our challenge is to see and respond to the presence of Christ in our daily lives. If we do this, we will always be ready for his coming.

We must be and remain prepared for the thief in the night who will take us by surprise. In the case of Jesus, however, there is no "thief" threatening to take something from us; rather, it is our Saviour, offering us something wonderful.

As we begin the Advent journey, it is important to remember that we are called to be prepared to respond to Christ today. Jesus offers us transformation if we are able to embrace his presence now, not in some far off, inscrutable day. He is already here, working in our lives and in our community.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.