1st Sunday of Advent, Year C
Today we begin the season of Advent, a four week period of preparation to get ourselves ready to celebrate Christmas. The season of Advent is the time we anticipate the first coming of the God made man, our Lord Jesus Christ and it is a season of preparation, anticipation and hope.
The gospel reading for this First Sunday of Advent, from the holy Gospel according to Luke, chapter 21, verse 25 to 36, gives us a reflection on the judgment day and signs of the last day. In our Gospel reading today Jesus tells His disciples about the end times saying, “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
But even with this grim picture of the future, Jesus shows us a glimpse of optimism and hope as it tells us that the Son of Man will come in a cloud with power and great glory to save us. Hence, ‘when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.’ By saying this, He comforts us not to lose hope and encourages us to be awake, alert, focused and active in our spiritual lives in preparation for that day. He (Jesus) was being realistic about the future, but still warns us saying, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth.”
Today’s gospel reading in fact, sets the tone for our Advent season as it calls us to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. This is why the Advent season reminds us that we should not be lazy, but hardworking in our spiritual lives, as we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Messiah.
So what exactly are we called to do in this Advent season to properly prepare ourselves for the coming of the Messiah? Prophet Jeremiah in our first reading today tells us that we can prepare ourselves for the coming of the Messiah by doing what is right and just in the land. Doing what is right and just entails living out the ten commandment, which is summarized in loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus in the gospel reading gives us the second way to prepare for His coming, which according to Him is by being vigilant. Being vigilant in this case involves doing an interior purification of our spiritual lives by doing an examination of conscience, by going to confession, by praying more consistently, and lastly, by practicing mortification.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, it is a well known fact that our Savior is coming to save us, so let us stand erect and raise our heads as Jesus urged us in today’s gospel reading by doing what is right and just when we truly love God and our neighbor; and by being vigilant in our spiritual lives through doing an examination of conscience, going to confession, praying more consistently, and lastly, by practicing mortification.
