The First Sunday in Advent – December 2, 2018

The First Sunday in Advent – December 2, 2018

First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

Psalm: Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 (1b)

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2

Alleluia: Psalm 85:8

Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent, the period in which we prepare ourselves to celebrate the first coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at Christmas.  It is a time of identification, remembrance and preparation.  

Identification because as the Catechism says we are seeking through the liturgical calendar, through the holy days, through the liturgy, through prayerful meditation on the Scriptures to travel back in time and relive the Biblical and historical events with the people who went through them.

Remembrance because often we forget who God is, who we are and what His plans are for us.  We have forgotten our destination in the tyranny of the present.  And so the cycles of the liturgical years call us back to remembrance, to get our bearings once again and to remember what is really important, our eternal relationship with our Creator and Destiny, the God who loves us and gave Himself for us.

Preparation because not only do we need to get ready to properly celebrate the first coming of Jesus at Christmas but we also need to get ourselves ready for His second coming which is now over 2,000 years closer than it was at the birth of Jesus in the manger.

And these things are what today’s readings are about.

The first reading from the Book of Jeremiah which was written to give the Israelites hope in the midst of the judgments and exile that were coming upon them because what was right and just weren’t what had been happening in Israel.  And so the Lord speaking through Jeremiah reassures the people of Israel and Judah that His promise of a Messiah is still going to come true for them in spite of their unfaithfulness.

This prophecy looks forward to both the first and second comings of Jesus.  Jesus came the first time in the incarnation as our Savior but His people by and large weren’t ready, they missed the day of their visitation.  And so even though the Messiah came, the people weren’t ready so Judah could be made safe and Jerusalem secure.  They weren’t ready for righteous and justice to be established in their land by their King.  A second coming is necessary.  The first coming was an introduction, Behold your King, Behold the Lamb of God who take away the sins of the world.  The Second Coming is when Jesus will come as a conquering king to establish righteousness and justice so that Judah will be safe and Jerusalem secure.

The Psalm for today reveals the character of our King who guides and instructs the open, trusting and teachable ones in gentleness and kindness.  They are the ones who will be ready for the day of their visitation.

The Thessalonians are doing well as the Apostle Paul writes to them in the second reading.  They are abundant in love towards one another and all.  They have been receptive to the instructions and spiritual direction provided by Saint Paul and his companions.  They are conducting themselves in manner pleasing to God.  But the Apostle Paul who is familiar with his own human frailty and theirs isn’t about to become complacent and so he prays fervently for them.  There is more that God wants to pour out in their lives.  He wants them to be ready for the second coming which he mentions in this passage.

Jesus in the Gospel reading exhorts His disciples and us to be ready for His second coming and for the tribulations leading up to it.  We need to maintain our vigilance and pray and conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel.  Jesus and Paul understand our weakness and the temptations that beckon us to turn aside from the salvation God has planned for us.

Jesus has done everything and is doing everything He can to lead us to heaven, to the Father’s house.  This Advent is another invitation to draw near to Him, to identify, to remember, to prepare for what He has for us in the future.