THE NIGHT WATCHMAN

He was called the Chowkidar, the Pakistani term for the nightwatchman or gatekeeper. As I prepared to retire for sleep each night, the scraping sound of his charpoy or stringed bed being pulled close to our compound door filled me with both reassurance and gratitude. I did not need to fear what the darkness of the night might bring, because our gatekeeper kept vigil. While I slept peacefully, he remained awake, alert for any intruders, responsible for us and our property. This was his life’s task: to serve our little community of Sisters by faithful watching. We trusted him and believed he would do just this.

This sacred season of Advent begins with an urgent and repeated call to us to ‘stay awake’ for the master’s return. These words prod us from a life of complacency and routine. How often we fail to watch, fail to recognise and open to the divine visitor who is knocking on the door of our lives?
Every Advent brings a fresh call to ‘wake up’.
The poet Rumi writes: ‘God is at home, it is I who have gone out.’ We are the Chowkidars – the gatekeepers of our own hearts. For whom will we watch this Advent? To whom will we awaken and open the door of our lives? We never know when or how God will come.