Year C – First Sunday of Advent

As the year comes to an end we are beginning a new season, the season of Advent. Advent is a season of hope, a season of renewal. It is not a penitential season like Lent but a season of expectation and waiting. But is there anything to be hopeful about? Will things change? Every year we celebrate Advent so what’s new about this Advent? Only His coming can bring newness into our lives and our hope is that He will come! May His word fill us with new hope!

Today’s first reading is from Jeremiah, who says, “The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David. In those days Judah will be saved.” These words are uttered by Jeremiah while he is in prison and the people of Jerusalem are losing hope as they are under attack. The prophet reminds them that the Lord will fulfill his promise and they will be saved. The prophet knows that his people are facing disaster after disaster and are getting disillusioned in their hope in God. He is not talking of a possible future rescue. What is certain is that God is faithful to his promise and he is going to save them. Yet he does not spell out when exactly that moment of salvation will take place. The people will be saved because of their fidelity and trust in Yahweh expressed in the response psalm: “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.”

The promise is uttered not only for those people but for us right now at the present moment. We too might tend to question whether God is in charge of the world as we face present-day happenings and impending disasters. As week by week we hear of terror attacks and bombings, as we are confronted with uncertainty and anxiety for ourselves and our loved ones, the reading alerts us to the fact if we look back at history there have been disasters, yet we are called to hope because of God’s promise. How are we coping with disasters and personal tragedies that threaten our existence? Have we given up? Have we sought escape or do we hope in the Lord and carry on?

I discovered Jesus and I were not strangers. It occurred some years ago. A Hollywood actor suddenly became ill. When his personal physician examined him, the doctor informed the actor bluntly: “Your situation is desperate. We’ve got to operate within 36 hours if we’re to have any chance to save you.” Later the actor said in effect, “I learned more about myself in those 36 hours than I had in the previous 36 years of my life. And what I discovered gave me a joy that I’d never experienced before in my life. I discovered that I wasn’t afraid of death. I had made it a habit to pray every day of my life. And now when he was minutes away from coming, I experienced the fruit of praying. It was then that I discovered that Jesus and I were not strangers. We were close friends, thanks to those daily conversations.” Mark Link in Sunday Homilies

In the second reading, Paul is aware that his community in Thessalonica is getting a little tired of waiting for the coming of the Lord. He urges them to be steadfast in faith and live blameless lives as they wait for the coming of the Lord. He asks them to live in love and expresses his own deep love for them. “Beloved: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. We ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you have learned from us, you ought to live and to please God. A sure way of keeping hope alive is to live in love and express our love towards others.

You’re a great kid and I love you!

A modern lesson in preparing for Jesus’ coming is the story of a junior executive who approached his grouchy boss to tell him how deeply he admired his creative genius. The boss was very surprised and also deeply impressed. That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, “The most incredible thing happened to me today,” and told him the story. Then he continued, “As I was coming home tonight, I thought about you. When I come home I don’t pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess. But somehow tonight I just wanted to sit here and, well, and just let you know that besides your mother, you’re the most important person in my life. You’re a great kid and I love you!” The startled boy started to sob and sob, and couldn’t stop crying. His whole body shook. At last he looked up at his father and said through his tears. “I was planning to run away from home tomorrow, Dad, because I didn’t think you loved me. Now I don’t need to.” — Harold Buetow in “God Still Speaks: Listen!”

In today’s gospel of Luke, Jesus gives a discourse on the end of time. He uses apocalyptic language like that of the Old Testament to describe the end of the world. The purpose is not to frighten his listeners but to alert them to the end that will take place for which they have always to be ready and prepared. The sign of the end times are the disasters that will befall, but these signs also herald “the Son of Man coming in a cloud.” Those who believe in the Lord’s coming have nothing to fear when these things take place. “Stand up, and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

On this first Sunday of Advent we are reminded of the coming of the Lord and we know that there are two comings that we call to mind. The first coming was when Jesus came into the world and was born in Bethlehem, which we celebrate at Christmas. We remind ourselves in Advent that His final coming will be at the end of time. The other coming, a third kind is hidden. It is only the chosen ones who see him and experience his coming within themselves and in those whom they love. His first coming in the flesh was in weakness, his intermediary coming is in spirit and the last coming will be in glory and majesty. Advent reminds us that we have to wait in readiness, in faith and hope, in prayer and love as we prepare ourselves for his coming. Today, we may be confronted with painful and difficult decisions, we may be threatened by death, uncertainty, and helplessness but these end times also herald the Lord’s coming to our rescue. All we can do is to make our own the prayer of the early Christians as they awaited the coming of Jesus: “Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus Come!”

Deep Impact

The movie “Deep Impact” is a contemporary dramatization of a kind of apocalyptic disaster. An ambitious journalist, Jenny Lerner, thinks she has uncovered a Washington political sex scandal. What she has stumbled on, instead, is a sensational story about the U.S. government’s efforts to respond to an oncoming disaster. An asteroid is hurtling towards the earth and scientists predict that a tidal wave will destroy the eastern seaboard of the United States and beyond when it hits. The administration, in conjunction with other world powers, has formed a contingency plan for a select number of talented people to survive. They are to be chosen by lottery; anyone over fifty will be automatically excluded. The movie shows signs in the “heavens” and nations in terror as the asteroid hurtles towards earth. There are disturbances in the seas and ultimately, destruction from a gigantic tidal wave. This apocalyptic threat and how people respond to it is what “Deep Impact” suggests so well. Some people flee; some are bewildered; others loot and destroy. The challenge for every one is to review their lives and take stock. While some opt out, others calmly face the inevitable. Many discover a kind of generosity, forgiveness and heroism. Jesus warns his listeners to take stock of their lives and prepare for whatever is to come. He says that the disaster will confront everyone on the earth and our response is to “stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is near at hand.” —- Peter Malone in “Lights Camera…Faith!” A Movie Lectionary

May we discover His coming in every tragedy that threatens us!