1st Sunday of Advent (Cycle C)

November 29, 2009

by Reverend Deacon Lawrence A. St. Onge   

In today’s gospel we hear the words: “Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen.”

There is a tale of a man telling a friend about a meeting that had recently taken place between the angel Gabriel and St. Peter, in which they were balancing the books on the people of earth. When they reached the bottom line, it was discovered that 70% of the human race had become so corrupt that the situation could no longer be tolerated.

St. Peter suggested that they should arrange for another great flood to be sent to earth. Gabriel agreed that such action might be the best solution, but he had one reservation. “What about the 30% of the population who are righteous?” he said. “Let’s not punish them for the sins of the 70%.” Consequently, it was arranged that a letter be sent to the righteous 30%, telling them the date of the catastrophe and instructing them to proceed to a designated “safe area,” where they would survive. The letters were then quickly prepared and sent out.

At this point the story-teller’s friend asked anxiously, “What did the letter say? What is the date and where is the safe area? To which the other man replied, “Oh! Didn’t you get a letter?”

Did any of you get a letter? Well, thank God it is just a fable, because I didn’t get one either. However, in today’s gospel lesson there is a message from heaven for everyone: “There will be signs in the sun and the moon and stars; on earth, nations in agony…men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect; hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.”

Over the centuries, there have been various interpretations and explanations of these words spoken by Jesus. Some have maintained, with good reason, that Jesus used this dramatic language to forecast the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Others have seen it as a forecast of conditions that will prevail at the end of human history.

But along with these and other explanations, one fact remains relevant and true, and that is: – “The Lord is Coming!” A second time.

Today, as the Church presents us with the Advent lesson of hope and expectation, just what is it that we, personally, are waiting for? Is it the “joyful hope of the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ,” as we say during mass? Are we waiting for a baby to be born, a king to come, a world to end and a new one to take its place? Are we waiting in joyful hope for the reign of God at the end of human history, a time of justice and peace, a future where the meek shall inherit the earth and the poor will have the Good News delivered to them at last? Or is the opposite true?

Do we pray earnestly for the time when the merciful will be shown mercy? Or does the hardness of our hearts make the Day of Judgment seem like a day to be dreaded and forestalled?

I think the answer for many people, unfortunately, is neither one nor the other. They don’t expect miracles, nor do they expect judgment. All they anticipate in this holiday season are cards and gifts, parties and visitors, extra traffic and longer lines in the stores.

Advent, to the Christian way of seeing, however, is not supposed to be a passive season of waiting, but rather, an active, responsive, and dynamic time of preparing the way of the Lord by participating now in the life of the world to come. If we truly want everlasting life, then we must choose it now, by protecting life wherever it is threatened: in the womb, in the prisons, in the hospitals, in countries with unstable governments, and with respect to the poor of our own country. If we want God’s mercy on the last day, then we must show mercy to others now: to loved ones who have wronged us, to those whom we are taught to regard as enemies, to strangers in need of our assistance. If we want to eventually rest in peace, then we must be peacemakers in the here and now: by not becoming easily angry and taking easy offense with others; and by giving up the paranoia that regards others, who are different from us, with suspicion.

Jesus said the kingdom is at hand. It is at hand, right here, in our midst, among us, and within us. If we don’t see it, and don’t feel it, then it’s because we’re actively choosing not to participate in it.

Because God loves us so much, the Advent Season is a time for taking giant steps toward our fulfillment as the kind of person God wants us to be; a time for catching glimpses of Divine Love through our love for one another; a time for renewing our faith in the Gospel message that “love conquers all, even death.” Love transforms sorrow into joy; death into new life, despair into joyous expectation.

So once again we ask ourselves the question, what are we looking for this Advent Season? The answer should be that we are looking for love, all of us, for God is love, and through Jesus, Our Lord, we are fulfilled in love, and so, as the second reading says: We will thus stand “blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Advent allows us to remember once again God’s loving action in the fulfillment of the many concrete hopes in our lives; and it encourages us to rekindle the vivid sense of anticipation we had as children, to “be alert at all times,” for we know not the time of the Lord’s coming.

And so, today, in keeping with the Advent theme of high hope and great expectation, the Prophet Isaiah’s joyful announcement should be a constant and unending source of inspiration and encouragement as we hear his words: The Lord “has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken, to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison…my soul rejoices in my God…As the earth makes fresh things grow, so will the Lord God make both integrity and praise spring up in the sight of nations.”