Advent! A Season of Hope!
Advent! A Season of Hope!
On the First Sunday of Advent, we begin our yearly pilgrimage through the scenes and events of our salvation history. This year, we return to the A cycle readings, with the Gospel focus primarily on Matthew. The first Sunday of Advent, the ‘Sunday of Hope’ in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, through whom God has promised to save and redeem His people.
The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. Their light represents Christ himself, who is the light of the world. We light the candles gradually throughout Advent because we know that the joy of salvation doesn't come fully into our lives all at once. Our life is a journey, a relationship with Jesus that has to be constantly renewed, just as a new candle is lit each week.
In the first reading (Isaiah 2:1-5), Isaiah reports an eschatological vision of the pilgrimage of nations to Mount Zion, as described also by Micah (4:1-3). In Isaiah's vision, Judah is shown as the place to which all nations will come for “instructions in righteous living.” The result will be universal peace. This prophecy, which explicitly concerns the restoration of Jerusalem, also applies to the one true Church founded by Christ. The new Temple would not only serve the Jewish people but also draw Gentiles.
Jesus teaches us in St. Matthew’s Gospel (24:37-44) that Christ’s second coming would take place without much or any warning at all. Therefore, we should be vigilant and ready to meet him at any time. The lesson from the flood is that an unexpected catastrophe can befall those who are unprepared for it. Noah and his family were ready, but the rest of them were distracted by the concerns of the world and were destroyed in God’s judgment. Again, Jesus explains that “one will be taken…one will be left” means the righteous will be left, as Noah and his family were spared, and the wicked will be taken, as the rest of them were in Noah’s time. The Gospel also reminds us of the unexpectedness of the Final Advent – the Second Coming of the Lord.
The only thing we have to do, according to the conclusion of the first reading, is walk in the light of the Lord. The second reading, St. Paul (Romans 13:11-14), motivates the love that is encouraged in Romans 13:8, 10 to follow the commandment of love. The moral law must be kept, but we should do so out of love for God and neighbor rather than merely out of fear or obligation.
God comes again and again in special ways throughout our lives. To meet him, we need to walk in the Light of the Lord. We need to grow in the love of love. We need to stay awake and be ready. Advent reminds us of and helps us to grow in love and walk in the light of the Lord. Each week when we light the light, it removes the darkness, brightens our lives, and prepares us to celebrate Christmas. Let us prepare for it.
On Sunday, December 12, 2021, Pope Francis, in his Angelus, told his audience, “The Season of Advent is meant for this: to stop and ask ourselves how to prepare for Christmas. We are so busy with all the preparations, with gifts and things that pass. But let us ask ourselves what we should do for Jesus and for others!” Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, "Whatever you do in your family, for your children, for your husband, for your wife, you do for Jesus." The Advent reading tells us to stay awake. Stay awake in doing good to others and Jesus to prepare for the coming of the Child Jesus. Stay awake in living the love of God and sharing for the end of time. Stay awake in sharing the good news for the end of our own times. Walk in the light of the Lord.
We are entering the busy season – the season of preparation. In this season, we engage in all kinds of preparation – writing cards, wrapping gifts, and so on. In the midst of all these things, let us also find a little quiet time too, to say a prayer, to read a scripture passage, to attend Mass, and so on. We will have in the bulletin about the Jesse Tree. Every week, we will post the scripture passage to read and to make an ornament and hang on the tree. Also, I will be posting a short video on social media on the same theme as the Jesse tree. Let us stay awake, pray together, and prepare for the birth of the Child Jesus.