1st Sunday of Advent. Dec - 1, 2024
Jeremiah
33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:12 – 4:2; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
Theme:
Vigilance and Prayer
Happy
New Year to all! Last Sunday, the solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the
Universe, marked the end of the Liturgical Year B. So, this weekend, we start a
new liturgical calendar, Year C, with the first Sunday of Advent. From its
Latin origin, Adventus, the word “Advent” means “coming.” The liturgy of this
four-week season prepares us not only for the coming of Jesus into history over
2000 years ago, whose anniversary we celebrate on Christmas, but it also
prepares us for Jesus’ second coming in glory at the end of time as well as for
the coming of Jesus in our daily lives. All these three comings of Jesus (at
the end of time, on Christmas, and every day) require good preparation. A good celebration of Christmas will depend
on how we prepare ourselves during this Advent. The celebration in heaven will
be certain if we prepare ourselves seriously for the return of Jesus at the end
of time. And Jesus’s real presence amid the happenings of our daily lives
depends on how we prepare ourselves daily to welcome him. Although Christmas
gives us the image of a holiday with decorations and shopping, let us remember
that Advent is a particular time of repentance. The purple color of the Advent
liturgy reminds us of this repentance. The four candles of the Advent Wreath
teach us that our repentance and waiting for Jesus’ coming should be with hope
(first Sunday), peace (second Sunday), joy (third Sunday), and love (fourth
Sunday).
The
Scripture readings of this first Sunday of Advent focus on two comings of
Jesus. The first is the coming as the fulfillment of God’s promise to the
chosen people, as we heard in our first reading. In the extremely dark time in
Judah’s history (during the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians), all seemed
lost. The Israelites believed that God had turned away from them. Yet, the
prophet Jeremiah delivered them a message of hope and invited them to await the
coming of God’s reign. Christian tradition sees the fulfillment of this promise
in the Nativity of Jesus, which we will celebrate at Christmas. So, four weeks
from now, considering the words of the prophet Jeremiah, God will raise up for
David a just shoot. He shall do what is right and just in our land. We shall be
safe, and we shall dwell securely. (Cf. Jeremiah 33:15-16). The second coming
is the last judgment at the end of time, as it is described by Saint Luke in
our Gospel. In our second reading, Saint Paul exhorts us to love one another
while we are waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus.
Our
Gospel passage is in the context of the belief in the early expectation of the
end of the age. Luke's early Christian community was dealing with the delay of
the Parousia (the second coming of Jesus) when this passage was written. Luke
was inspired by Mark 13 in his eschatological discourse, but he made some
crucial changes. For example, Mark uses the vandalism of the Jerusalem temple
by the Romans (Mark 13:14) as the apocalyptic symbol (see Daniel 9:27; 12:11),
indicating the end time and the return of Jesus. However, Luke removes the
apocalyptic setting in the text preceding our passage (Luke 21:20-24). He
separates the historical destruction of the temple of Jerusalem from the signs
of the second coming of Jesus. In between, he inserts a period of indeterminate
length that he refers to as “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24).[1]
Our Gospel story occurs at the end of the section of the Apocalyptic discourse
(21:5-38). The second part of our pericope acts as a conclusion of this
section. So, before our text, the audience of Luke had already heard about the
Temple’s destruction foretold (vv. 5-7), warning signs of the end (vv. 8-19),
and the great tribulation: siege and capture of Jerusalem (vv. 20-24).
The
first part of this pericope (vv. 25-28) is apocalyptic literature, and the
second part (vv. 34-36) is an exhortation. Jesus first foretells what his
second coming will look like; then, he calls his audience to vigilance to
escape the tribulations.
In
the first part of our Gospel story (vv. 25-28), Jesus foretells the cosmic
signs that will precede his second coming. He cites the sun, moon, stars, and
the sea (v. 25). People will die of fright…For the power of the heavens will
be shaken (v. 26). Besides the cosmic signs, Jesus adds the signs
from the heavens. The cosmic signs combined with those from the heavens
will cause intense fear. And then… Power and great glory (v. 27): “And
then” is a transition from the cosmic signs and the power of the heavens to the
coming of the Son of the Man. “Power and great glory” describes the divine
nature of Jesus. Stand erect and raise your heads… Your redemption is at
hand (v. 28): This verse introduces the topic of being vigilant,
which the narrator will develop in the second part of our text (vv. 34-36). In
contrast with the people who will die of fright (see v. 26), faithful disciples
of Jesus are called to stand erect and raise their heads, ready to meet their
Lord. “Your redemption is at hand” conveys confidence and hope. The
meeting with the Son of Man will bring redemption.
In
the second part of our Gospel passage (vv. 34-36), the narrator exhorts his
audience to be vigilant so that the day of the Parousia (the second coming of
Jesus) does not catch them by surprise. He describes a couple of things that
they need to be vigilant of. For instance, they should not let carousing,
drunkenness, and anxieties of daily life break them down. Pray
that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to
stand before the Son of Man (v. 36): Tribulations are real, and they are at
hand. To “stand before the Son of Man,” the faithful disciples must “escape”
the tribulations first. So, they need “strength” to do that, and this strength
comes from “prayer.” So, to be vigilant means to pray always. In our second
reading, Saint Paul adds one more virtue that we need to observe while we are
waiting for our Lord Jesus: He exhorts us to love one another so as to
strengthen our hearts and be blameless in holiness before our God and Father (1
Thes 3:12-13).
In this liturgy of the Mass, let us ask God’s
grace to help us stay vigilant in prayer, love one another, and repent as we
wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus at Christmas, the end of time, and his
daily coming into our lives. Amen.
Rev.
Leon Ngandu, SVD
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Cordinator
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