1st
Sunday of Advent (Year C)
First Reading:Jeremiah 33:14-16 Second Reading:1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 Gospel Reading:Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
Today is the First Sunday of ADVENT and with this we WELCOME a new Liturgical year with a new cycle of prayers and Scripture readings – Cycle C of St. Luke. Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King and waved GOOD BYE to the outgoing Liturgical year – Cycle B of St. Mark.
Literally
speaking, the term 'advent'
comes from a Latin word meaning 'coming'
or 'arrival' of someone, but in
the Christian liturgical sense it specifically refers to 'the
coming of Christ.' So,
“Advent”
is a Holy Season when we spiritually
prepare ourselves for “the
Coming of Christ.”
Now, speaking of 'the
coming of Christ', we find that it is a mystery,
for there is not one, but three comings of Christ: (1) Christ has
already come in the past about 2000 years ago, (2) Christ will
come in future at the end of the world and (3) Christ still
comes today in the sacraments – very specifically through the
Eucharist. Thus in a general sense, the period of Advent encompasses
all time viz. Past, Future & Present. So, a Christian in this
sense is always a citizen of Advent. Therefore, it is not
surprising that we begin the new Liturgical Year this Sunday, with
the same theme of 'the coming of Christ',
where we actually ended the old Liturgical Year last Sunday.
Generally speaking, we
have about 4 weeks of
Advent and the 4 Sundays
of Advent are supposed to immediately prepare us for the
celebration of Christmas, but they have an even more important
preparation in mind viz. the readiness of each one of us for the 2nd
& final coming of Christ at the end of the world; and this we do
by means of our constant & active involvement through properly
welcoming Christ, and receiving him in our hearts who comes to us
today in sacraments.
We
have the First Reading of today taken from the Book of the Prophet
Jeremiah. Now, Jeremiah has something of a reputation for being a
'prophet of doom' and one may
even refer to others who seem constantly to be miserable or
pessimistic as a 'real Jeremiah.'
But today’s First Reading shows that we may not always have the
whole truth about Jeremiah, for it is a reading of promise
that all shall be well.
Jeremiah actually wrote
this when the nation of Israel was in chaos. The great kingdom of
David had now been split into the Houses of Israel and Judah and the
forces of Babylon were over-running the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
People were being exiled to Babylon, great estates were being
confiscated and the people were beginning to feel that God had
finally forsaken His people.
But for Jeremiah, the
cause of this catastrophe was quite simple: the infidelity of the
Hebrews to their covenantal promises. And he proclaims that God is
always faithful to His promises, and so, he speaks about
hope. The God
who raised David and made him a great king will raise up a new king
from his line. The 'tree'
that
is the House of David may have been cut down, but from its roots a
new shoot will appear. This new shoot will grow strong and in his day
integrity and truth shall flourish - “I
will make a virtuous Branch grow for David who shall practice honesty
and integrity in the land.” This passage refers
prophetically to the coming of Jesus, our King and Savior - That is
the coming of the Child Jesus in Bethlehem, which we anticipate and
prepare for in these four weeks of Advent. That is what we may call
the First Coming.
The
Gospel Reading of today according to St. Luke speaks in ominous terms
of the end of the world and what we refer to as the Second Coming
of Jesus at the end of time: “There will
be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations
will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the
waves... And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud
with power and great glory.”
Here Jesus speaks
dramatically and graphically about an apocalypse, a cosmic
upheaval - skies darkening, waters raging, and winds roaring –
“signs” that will signal “the
coming of Christ with power and glory.” We need to
emphasize that the description of events is not to be understood
literally as a prophecy of what is actually going to happen. Rather
we are to look at the inner meaning of these happenings. The cosmic
disturbances about the sun, moon and stars are traditional ways of
describing manifestations of God's judgment of Israel. In ancient
Israelite times, people believed that the sun, moon and stars
represented deities who controlled world affairs. Israel believed
that when God acted, these celestial bodies would be disturbed. So,
what is being said here is that these celestial bodies which other
nations believed controlled history would be shown to be helpless
under the power of God.
However,
there is still a third coming which forms an important and
indispensable link between the First and Second Comings. That is what
is spoken about in the Second Reading of today from the 1st Letter of
St. Paul to the Thessalonians. It is the welcoming of Jesus into our
lives in the here and now. This is something which takes place
every day. By it we both acknowledge the First Coming of Jesus
in Bethlehem and prepare for the Second Coming at an unknown future
date.
Actually, the early
Christians believed that Christ's Second coming would take place in
the quite near future – and so, they very eagerly waited for it,
neglecting their current duties. So, Paul strongly urges them not to
so anticipate the 'world to come'
that they forget how to live and behave here and now in 'this
world.' Yes, Paul says, care
for one another, pray earnestly, please God in your everyday
behavior, and be ready when the 'Day of the
Lord' comes to you and me in
the mystery of death. Paul might as well ask us: 'What
would we do differently today if we knew that this was indeed our
last day?'
A bunch of navy men were returning from a long voyage in the seas and as the boat approached shore, the men were all looking for their wives and girlfriends on the shore ... eager to see them again! As the men looked over the crowd of women lined up, the air of excitement and expectancy grew. One man however was all alone as all the other men found their wives and girlfriends and they all embraced ... his wife wasn't there! Worried, he hurried home and found a light on in his house. As he entered he was relieved to see his wife, she quickly turned and said, "HONEY, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!" His response showed his disappointment however, 'The other men’s wives and girlfriends were watching for them!' The difference between waiting and watching was only too clear!
The Scripture Readings of today teach us that we are to be 'watching' for the return of Jesus, not just 'waiting' for it. Those who watch for it will keep themselves alert and self-controlled; those simply waiting may slip into sloppy business with other things and let their priorities slip! Are we just killing time 'waiting' for Jesus to return, or are we really making time productive while 'prayerfully watching' for his return? We are to understand the days in which we live. In the gospel Reading of today Jesus exhorts his disciples and also us: “Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” We have to be a sentry! We are to be on guard duty. We have to be alert at all times. We have to be watchful.
Again,
we are told of the 'judgment'
at the Second Coming of Christ. We are therefore to be prepared for
this judgmental moment when we stand before the Son of Man. Surely we
do not want Christ to chide us in judgment: “I
was hungry and you bought a Lamborghini car. I was thirsty and you
hoisted your tenth Bud Lite. I was naked, and you bought the best in
clothes. I was a beggar, and you passed me by like a leper. I was
sick in a lonely hospital, and you were over-committed.”
So,
as we begin today the Holy Season of Advent, it calls each one of us
to
be watchful,
to
be ready & prepared
and not just to
keep waiting for the Lord
- and, this is the Good News of today.
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