Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalms 121(122); Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44
Cleaning and Arranging
Dear friends, today is the first Sunday of Advent and the first day of the new Liturgical Year A. We have just concluded the liturgical cycle of three years: A, B, and C. Although the cycle repeats itself and the readings are also recycled, the message they convey to us is ever new. This is because the Word of God is the most ancient and the most present at the same time. It cuts across all generations, inspiring, consoling, uplifting, teaching, warning, admonishing, and correcting the people (see 2 Timothy 3:16). “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Mt 24:35).
Advent is the time of waiting and preparing for the coming of the Lord in our lives, just as the people of Israel waited and prepared for the coming of the promised Messiah. The only difference is that while for the people of Israel the Messiah was a promise to be fulfilled, for us it is a promise already fulfilled. As the Church of Christ, we relive every year the events of that first Advent, seeking to renew our spirits and amend our lives so that the Messiah can be reborn in our hearts on Christmas. We can compare the Advent to someone expecting a special guest in his or her home. There is a lot of cleaning and arranging that we do before the guests arrive. In our lives, too, many things make us untidy and unfit to receive the special guest that Christ Jesus is. Is Jesus a special guest to you?
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah saw a vision of the days when people who were divided and scattered into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah would come together. Jerusalem, the city of the chosen people that was badly destroyed by external forces, would stand tall as the center of unity for all the people. In those days, the prophet says there will be neither war nor the need for weapons. Injustice, bad governance, and negative competition between neighbours cause tension, division, and conflict. People look for weapons to fight or protect themselves from aggression. Christ’s message is that of love, tolerance, justice, and peace among all peoples. If everyone works for justice, there will be no need for weapons. In any case, weapons have no history of bringing peace, but devastation.
Advent season is also a time for personal recollection to weed out any bad manners that we may have gathered in the course of the year. St. Paul tells us that daylight has come; hence, we must abandon all the bad things that we have been doing under the cover of darkness. When God created us, He put in us the conscience that indicates to us when we are doing good and when we are doing bad. This is what makes us shy away from the presence of God, just as Adam and Eve did when they committed sin. Are you hiding from God’s presence at this moment in your life?
God has given us the ability to transform the Earth for our own comfort. However, one thing remains hidden from us: death. In His wisdom, God has reserved the knowledge of the things to come for Himself for the good of humanity. Were we to know our end or our fate, life would be very miserable, and the world would be very chaotic. If you do not believe, ask yourself what you would do if you knew the day you would die. For instance, would you go to work in the morning if you knew you would die in the evening?
Sometimes we disregard all the warning lights on the dashboard of our lives until it is too late. Jesus tells us that even during the time of Noah, people were eating, drinking, marrying, and getting married while ignoring the warnings of Noah until the flood came and swept them all away. Are you paying attention to the warning lights in your life?
Today, many confuse material wealth and positions of influence with God’s favour, because even the prophets and preachers are saying so. Well, it is not always the case because the evil one uses wealth and positions to recruit people to his kingdom. Even people who consider themselves atheists eat, drink, marry, and get married; they have good harvests; their flocks increase, their businesses thrive, and they take home huge salaries, etc. Therefore, the correct sign of God’s favour in our lives is not wealth and positions but love, unity, and true peace that surrounds us. Do you think that the wealth and the position you have now are the proceeds of God’s favour? Do you have peace in your family, at your workplace, and within yourself?
Dear friends, as we begin this Advent season, let us take time to look around and see what we need to clean and arrange for the Lord to be born in our hearts.
Have a blessed Advent season.
Fr. Lawrence Muthee, SVD
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 