The Scriptures on this First
Sunday of Advent offer wise advice for our season of waiting. We need to remember God’s promises, ask the
Lord for strength, and be vigilant concerning what is to come.
Jeremiah’s prophetic word
assures us that God is about to fulfill His promise by raising up for David a
just shoot. The shoot is an heir, and
the heir, of course, is Jesus, the Just One, or as today’s reading from
Jeremiah concludes, “The Lord our justice.”
We often think of Jesus during this season as the promised Prince of
Peace, but we remember Pope St Paul VI’s words, “If you want peace, work for
justice.” There will be no peace in the
world until justice has been established.
Jesus’ mission to bring justice and peace is now the mission of the
Church, of each of us, and we have to commit ourselves to both praying for and
working for justice and peace.
It is good to remember as
well the other promises that Jesus has given us: He will be with us until the
end of the age; the gates of hell will not prevail against us; anything we ask
in His name will be given to us; the Holy Spirit will be our Advocate and Guide
and will give us the words we need and will empower us to do the works that
Jesus did. God is faithful to His
promises and it is good that we keep this close in our minds and hearts during
these days of waiting upon the Lord.
In the second reading, Paul
writes to the Thessalonians and prays that the Lord will strengthen their
hearts. This strength will make them
holy and will enable them to conduct themselves in ways that are pleasing to
God. In the gospel, Jesus with His words
to the disciples tells us of the need for strength in order to endure what will
come upon the world. We need strength,
He says, to resist carousing and drunkenness and being overwhelmed by the
anxieties of daily life. The gospel
passage finishes with Jesus exhorting the disciples, “Pray that you have the
strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the
Son of Man. Are we doing this or do we
give in to fear in the face of what is happening?
Jesus also tells the
disciples, “Be vigilant at all times.”
The followers of Jesus need to watch what is happening, to read the signs
that appear, to realize what needs to be done.
If they are not vigilant, Jesus says, they may not escape the
tribulations that are coming and more importantly they may not be able to
“stand before the Son of Man.” If we had
to stand before Jesus this day, would we be able to do so confidently?
Jesus was born on the
first Christmas and as He ascended into heaven, He promised that He would come
again in glory. We remember the first
coming as we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord and we profess our
faith in the second coming each time we gather for the Eucharist on the Lord’s
Day. But we know too that Jesus comes to
us often in our daily lives, in our prayer, in those who are in need, and in
many other ways. We pledge again during
this season of waiting to be vigilant and to be on the lookout for the many
ways Jesus comes to us each day. Do we
expect Jesus? Do we see Jesus?
Advent is the time when we
remember God’s promises and ask for the strength to be faithful and persevering. We need to watch and be ready for the coming
of the Lord. All that has been spoken
will come to pass. Do we believe
that? Do we ask for what we need each
and every day? Or are our anxieties or
our carousing crowding out God’s place in our minds and hearts?
This holy season of Advent
reminds us that now is the time to put our hope and trust in the Lord so that
we will not be put to shame at the hour of His coming. We cannot delay, for we know not the day, nor
the hour, when He will come.
