FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (Advent Wreath)

The First Candle is purple...it is the candle of prophesy: it symbolizes hope and expectation.

It reminds us of the 400 years of silence that Israel endured while awaiting all that the prophets proclaimed...and we wait also.

As our nights grow longer and our days grow shorter, we look on these earthly signs–light and green branches–we remember God’s promises to our world: Christ, our light and our hope will come!

Hear the words of the prophet Isaiah:

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest.” Is 9:1-2

(Light the Candle)

Let us pray: Oh God, rejoicing, we remember the promises of your Son! Shine your blessings upon us. May Christ shine one us and brighten our way by guiding us in his truth. Amen.

As we begin this Advent season, we remember the hope we have in Jesus. The prophets of Israel all spoke of the coming of the Christ...of how a Savior would be born...that he would be king of the line of David. They spoke of how he would rule the world wisely and bless all nations. As the followers of Jesus we await his return. We light this candle to remember that as he came to us humbly in a manger at Bethlehem and gave light to the world...so he is coming again in power to deliver his people. We light this candle to remind us to be alert and watch for his return.

Let us pray: Lord, thank you for coming. As we wait for you...as we celebrate this Holy Season, let us not lose our focus. Help us to keep our eyes on you. Help us to see you in your present coming. Amen.

 "I plead with you never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid. Pope St. John Paul II

With all that is going on in our world, it would be easy for us to become discouraged and become hopelessly pessimistic. We have to remind ourselves that this present world is passing away as we await a new reality. We are only pilgrims on a journey and the road is not always straight or pleasant. What sustains us is the Word of God. Our inheritance is with the Lord, sharing his eternal glory. This is not fantasy but revealed truth, which in faith we adhere too. The Lord is our strength and deliver, our Savior and God.

 "Our job is to love others, without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy." Thomas Merton

God doesn't question our worthiness before he loves us. If he did, we would not be loved. Love is his choice and his gift, not depending on our worth, but on his. So when Jesus says, "Love one another as I have loved you," he sets the bar of our love. It is not the other but The Other, himself, our Lord and God. As his love makes us worth, so our love of the other gives the other worth. In turn, we become more receptive to God's unfathomable love for us. 

 

Homily First Sunday of Advent Year B

 

Reading 1: The reading begins with acknowledging God as Our Father and Redeemer.  It ends with once more with recognizing God as Father and Creator. We are the work of his hands. Then Isaiah admits our need for a redeemer. We have sinned and wandered far from the Lord. Our hearts are hardened like polluted rags. He cries for God to rend the heavens and come down to save us.  Bring about awesome deeds once more.

 

As we begin this Advent season, we are reminded that even though Jesus has come and saved us, we still sin and stray from the Lord. Even though God took on our flesh, we still stray from him. As he came before, we are asking Jesus to come in a fresh new way, so that our hearts can turn more fully to him.

 

What is the condition that the prophet indicates on our part? Would that he might meet us doing right; that we were mindful of him in all our ways. Our preparation for the celebration of Christmas during the next twenty-seven days is not only to acknowledge Jesus’ first coming into the world, not only to be aware of his promise to come again at the end of time, but to be expectant and attentive to his coming in the present moment.  He came to save, now he comes to unite us more intimately with himself in love. But if our hearts are full of unnecessary distractions, unrepentant sin, then how can he find a place for himself in us?

 

Gospel: Advent is a time to be watchful and alert, not in fear but in expectant hope. The Lord desires to come in a fresh new way into our heart to keep his life in us renewed.  Will he find us open and expectant? Sometimes we live our lives in a state of disarray, our hearts in shambles, cluttered by distracting habits.

 

 It is like a college student, who parties with friends and whose apartment is in shambles with trash, dirty dishes, etc. Would he want his parents to come unexpectedly and see all of this? Not really. Yet, we are at times spiritually living in the midst of accumulated trash. What would Jesus find if he comes unexpectedly? 

 

On the other hand, if the college student kept his apartment clean and uncluttered, it won’t matter when his parents came. Advent is a time to do some fall cleaning in our lives.

 

We heard last Sunday what we did to the least we did to Jesus. He comes and came in his word which we hear in every Mass. He comes in the Eucharist. He comes with his grace at different moments of our lives to sustain and renew us. He comes in the silence of our hearts as we spend time in prayer.

 

How we recognize and respond to his present coming will determine how will we respond to his ultimate coming. As we are watchful and responsive in the present moment to his coming in a variety of ways, we will be alert and ready when he comes in glory either at the moment of our death or at the end of time. If children are excited in anticipation of Santa Clause with his gifts, should we not be excited in anticipation of Jesus with his gift of eternal life and glory. Watch and be alert.

 

Reading 2: Why does the Church choose this reading as we begin a new season of grace? We are being reminded of the many blessings we have received. Because we have fellowship with Jesus we have been enriched with all the spiritual gifts we need. God has given us grace upon grace so that we may be found worthy when he comes.  Advent is that time to renew our awareness of the journey we are on—a journey to the Lord. It is time once more to put first things first. It is a time to be attentive to the various ways Jesus is coming in the present moment, so that we will not miss the grace of his final coming in our lives.

 

How? By being attentive to the word of God, to avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, uncluttering our lives of sin, of being attentive to the times we can exercise the spiritual and corporeal works of mercy.

 "God never promised us an easy journey in life, only safe arrival," Anonymous

The safe arrival is contingent on how we lived our lives in relationship to him and others. In times of trials did we turn to the Lord, confident that he will see us through or did we curse the situation? In the many mysteries of life, did we embrace the Lord's will or did we always questioned him, as if he didn't care about us? The difference between Peter and Judas is that the former turned to the Lord, believing in his mercy and the latter did not not. We are never alone in our journey. We may not see or feel the presence of the Lord or his guiding hand, but his promise is irrevocable. It is our faith in him that sustains us through the difficult moments of life.

 FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT: GOSPEL YEAR B

Jesus said to his disciples “Be watchful! Be alert! 

· During Jesus’ time a Roman soldier could face execution if he fell asleep during guard duty and allowed the enemy to penetrate the camp.

· How watchful are we against the spiritual enemy who wants to draw us away from God?

You do not know when the time will come. 

· There are two words in Greek for time: “Kairos” and “Chronos.”  The first conveys that that moment is a crucial, decisive moment in a person’s life. The second is the ordinary way we understand time, as another moment in life.

· That “Kairos” moment is the time of our death and judgment before God.

It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. 

· These are the four Roman watches of the night:  Evening watch (6:00 - 9:00 p.m.); midnight watch (9:00 - midnight); cockcrow watch (midnight - 3:00 a.m.); and dawn watch (3:00 - 6:00 a.m.).  Note that they are all nighttime watches.

May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'" 

· What does it mean to you to be watchful, stay awake?

· Jesus reminds us that he will come again. What effect does this realization have on the way you live?

· What changes should be made in your life in order to respond attentively to the message of Jesus in today’s Gospel?

· It may be good to develop the habit of praying daily  “Come, Lord Jesus, Come!”  as a way of reminding yourself of the Gospel message:

·    As we begin this Advent season, what are we watching for? Is it not the coming of Jesus in the present moment of our lives? How attentive are we to the comings of Jesus throughout our day, week, month? If we are watchful in the present moment, what will be different when he comes in that final kairos moment of our life on earth?

      

 

K. Chesterton once said, “A saint only means a man who really knows that he is a sinner."

Not only does he knows and admits that he is a sinner, but desires even more to grow in holiness. If we are living in union with God, sharing in his own divine life by grace, we are saints. We may never be canonized, but if we die in union with Christ, we will be among the elect, seeing the face of God.  Our focus is not to be canonized but to be with God. That is why we are struggling sinners, striving with the grace of God to reach our destiny, to be with God in glory. The struggling sinner's goal is heaven, not purgatory.