1st Sunday of Advent (Fr. Vinner)
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Advent is a time of waiting for Christ, allowing Jesus to be reborn in our lives. It is also a time for purifying our hearts by repentance and for renewing our lives by reflecting on and experiencing the several comings (advents) of Christ into our lives. Besides his first coming at his birth, Jesus comes to our lives through the Sacraments (especially the Eucharist), through the Word of God, through the worshipping community, at the moment of our death and, finally, in his Second Coming to judge the world.
The definition of Advent is “a coming” or an “approach”. Today we start the preparation for the “coming” of Christmas… the anniversary of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. How should we prepare for Christmas? Before we answer that question we should determine to which Christmas we are referring: the “commercial” Christmas or the “spiritual” Christmas. To many people Christmas no longer means, “The birthday of the baby Jesus.” Christmas to them only means shopping, gifts, travel, and the family coming home, the big meal and so on. To prepare for that Christmas people spend hours upon hours shopping, planning, sending cards and attending parties. But that’s not what Christmas is. Christmas is the birthday of Jesus. But do we really believe that and do we really prepare properly to celebrate His birthday? Or, do we get caught up in the “commercial” Christmas and forget the “spiritual” Christmas?
In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah waits and hopes for an ideal descendant of King David who will bring security, peace and justice to God’s people. Christians believe that Jeremiah’s waiting and hoping were fulfilled in Jesus. Jeremiah assures us that the Lord our justice will fulfill His promises, and, hence, we need not be afraid in spite of the frightening events and moral degradation all around.
The Psalmist expresses the central idea of patient, vigilant and prayerful waiting for the Lord in today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 25), asking Him to make known His ways to us, guide us, and teach us. In the second reading, Paul gives instructions about how Christians should conduct themselves as they wait for “the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His holy ones.” We are advised to “strengthen our hearts in holiness” (3:13) and “abound in love for one another” (3:12).
In today’s Gospel, Jesus prophesies the signs and portents that will accompany his Second Coming and encourages us to be expectant, optimistic, vigilant and well-prepared: “When these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand” (Luke 21:28). Jesus wants us to face the future with confidence in God’s providence.
The “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” is what we should really prepare for. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is fine. The gifts, the shopping, the family gatherings are wonderful. But that’s the “commercial” Christmas. Today, as we come to communion, everyone, the young, the teens, the young adults, the moms and dads and the seniors, all consider the question, “How am I going to prepare for the “spiritual” Christmas … the birthday of Jesus Christ?”
1) We need to prepare ourselves for Christ’s second coming by allowing Jesus to be reborn daily in our lives. Advent is the time for us to make this preparation by repenting for our sins, by renewing our lives through prayer and penance and by sharing our blessings with others. Advent also provides an opportunity for us to check for what needs to be put right in our lives, to see how we have failed and to assess the ways in which we can do better. Let us accept the challenge of Alexander Pope this Advent season: “What does it profit me if Jesus is reborn in thousands of cribs all over the world and not reborn in my heart?”
2) A message of warning and hope: The Church reminds us that we will be asked to give an account of our lives before Christ the Judge, both at the moment of our deaths and at Jesus’ second coming. Today’s readings invite us to assess our lives every night during Advent and to make the necessary alterations in the light of the approaching Christmas celebration. Amid the tragedies that sometimes occur in our daily lives and the setbacks in spiritual life, we must raise our heads in hope and anticipation, knowing that the Lord is coming again.
May God Bless us.
FR. S.Vinner HGN