A simple human style homily on Luke 21:34 to 36 about staying awake to the small things that shape our spiritual life. (9-11-25)
Praise be to Jesus Christ
There was a taxi driver who was very careful in driving. He paid attention to every part of the road. His quiet alertness made every journey feel safe. One day a regular passenger asked him, You always drive with such attention. Why so much care. The driver replied, When I avoid small troubles, I also avoid big ones. A careful eye on the road keeps both the passengers and the vehicle safe. That is all.
This simple reply explains the heart of today’s Gospel. Jesus says in Luke 21 34 – 36, be on your guard and pray at all times. He is not asking us to live in fear. He is inviting us to live like that driver, with quiet alertness. Not anxious, not tense, but awake to the small things that can slowly lead us away from God.
Most people think danger comes suddenly, but Jesus knows that the real danger enters quietly. A small bitterness that we keep in our heart. A small lie that we tell to avoid trouble. A small laziness in prayer that becomes a habit. A small jealousy that grows slowly. These are the small gutters on the road of our heart. If we ignore them, they become big holes.
In the Old Testament the people of Israel often forgot God, not because of one big sin but because of many small acts of forgetting. First they stopped listening. Then they stopped obeying. Then they started following other ways. By then their heart had already fallen asleep. The prophet cried out, Return to the Lord before your heart becomes too hard to hear Him.
Jesus uses a strong word in this passage. He says that the heart can become heavy. A heavy heart is not a sinful heart but a tired heart. A heart that no longer pays attention. A heart that no longer watches the road. A heart that no longer feels the gentle warnings of God. When a heart becomes heavy, prayer becomes dry, family life becomes noisy, and religious life becomes routine.
This warning is important for our families. Many families did not break because of one big event. They broke because of small things that were never cared for: a harsh word not corrected, a hurt feeling not spoken, a misunderstanding allowed to grow. When we ignore the small troubles in a home, the bigger troubles come easily.
In religious life too, the same danger waits. The first love for prayer becomes reduced to duty. Community life becomes a pattern instead of a joy. A slow forgetfulness enters. This is why spiritual authors used to say “watch your little choices because they decide your big direction”.
Jesus invites us today to watch early: before anger grows, before jealousy becomes strong, before laziness becomes a habit and before prayer becomes only a form. As we know watching early is easier than repairing later. Let us often remember that driver who avoids a small gutter so that a big accident never happens.
To stay awake means to keep our heart soft, our mind clear, and our prayer honest. It means to look at our day in the evening and ask where my heart went today. Did I walk with God or walk away from Him without noticing.
Jesus wants us to stand before Him with a heart that has stayed awake: a heart that has not allowed itself to fall into small traps, a heart that has taken care of the little things. It is because a careful heart is a safe heart.
Lord keep my heart awake to the small things that lead me closer to You.
Thank you Father to have an introspection to keep our heart safe and steady.