“It is our business to see that we do right; God will see that we come out right.”
First Sunday of Advent C
(November 29, 2009)
“It is our business to see that we do right; God will see that we come out right.”
Scripture: Jer. 33: 14 – 16; Ps 25: 4-5, 8-10, 14; 1 Thes. 3: 12 – 4: 2; Lk 21: 25 – 28, 34 – 36.
Homily
Advent is a time of expectation and hope.[1] Officially, we all expect the coming into the flesh of God’s Son, the birth of Jesus at Christmas. What do we want to ask of him? What do we want to offer him?[2] This is a season for making our every desire known to God and to ourselves for a deeper appropriation and perhaps for a better perspective.
The Scriptures of this day present to us a horizon in the future where God’s power will be felt and known. In the light of this coming event, the same scriptures teach us a way to wait for the realization of the promise. Jesus indeed teaches us how to live today in holy expectation.
Our reflection bears on the healthy vision of the wonderland of promise in touch with the here-and-now of joyful but constant labor.[3] In other words, while our attention is on the Lord who is coming, our awareness watches over every step of the journey, in the Spirit of God.
1) God is coming
In the first reading prophet-Jeremiah announces the coming of the Lord in fulfillment of a promise made to David that his kingdom will not know destruction.[4] The God who comes is a God of peace and tranquility. His justice consists of restoring security to Jerusalem, and his agent is a “just shoot” from David. The coming of God through this “just shoot” does not seem to involve military power or anything else but doing “what is right and just.” Safety comes from righteousness of individuals and justice in social institutions could we push the argument to match our contemporary language, and it is a never-ending process, always forward into the future.
In the letter to the Thessalonians, our second reading, the coming of the Lord is the second coming of Jesus Christ “with all his holy ones.” [If this clause helps your understanding of the communion of the saints in the life of the Church, you may take good notice]. When Christ comes, we stand before God the Father. The future in this context is a time of revelation of holiness. Our own degree of holiness will appear in full light. It is a time when embarrassment can be huge if one is not careful now, and greatness unambiguous, if we obey now.
Finally, the Gospel talks of the shaking of heavenly powers and the roaring of earthly powers. Nevertheless, the coming of God is visible in the coming of the “Son of Man in a cloud with power and great glory.” This coming of God is now a day of “standing erect” and of “raising heads.” This coming is simply an invitation to stand before the Son of Man. Two great dangers threaten people ahead of that day: deadly fright, and tribulations or suffering. However, the Lord is clear that these tremendous signs including people’s dismay and death only announce our “redemption at hand.” Shall we then understand that every assault on our relationship with God is a sign of some form of imminent liberation coming our way? Can we then see in temptations (always imminent) the closeness of the Lord and remain firm in his word of promise?[5]
For us today, we are looking forward to the coming of the Son of Man at Christmas when we can stand before the crib to greet the baby and his parents. Again, how much can we put aside to buy him gifts? What shall we do to prepare for this day of power and glory, clouded by the humility of Jesus?
2) We live for God today
“Be vigilant and pray,” says the Lord Jesus for the strength to escape tribulations and to “stand before the Son of Man.” These two are the commandments we receive from him who has the words of eternal life, the one in whom the Father is well pleased, the one Moses announced and commended to the people.[6]
Saint Paul, on his part, exhorts the church in Thessalonica to follow the sure instructions received from him. The teaching that Paul himself had received from the first witnesses will bring forth right conduct pleasing to God.[7] Before he gives his exhortation, Paul first prays for the community, “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love…” The strength of heart he invokes for them comes from the life of charity for each other, according to the doctrine and example of the apostle himself. But it is all about the Lord Jesus. The doctrine of Jesus is about a human heart fully alive to God today – every day. The only risk Jesus lists for us is “drowsy heart.” The habits leading to that kind of death are carousing, drunkenness and anxieties of daily life.[8] The various ways of preparing ourselves to receive the Eucharist are parts of this willingness of ours to stay awake. Above all, the Sacrament of reconciliation is a great help to keep constantly alert and stand prepared. I will suggest some practical ways, in case they help anyone.
Application: Before Christmas, take the time to read the instructions of Luke the evangelist in the Gospel of Luke, with this simple question in mind: Lord how do you want me to be blameless before you? Through the teaching of Luke, we may know our daily traps and the safety escapes that consist of gazing at the Lord in his life and ministry and learning from him. The Eucharistic presence summarizes it all and gives us the power to do it. The Lord is the one whom we want to know more and to love more.[9]
After Easter (supposing that your first day of the year is a foundation that you can remember), take the time to read the Acts of the Apostles from the same evangelist, with another simple question at heart: Lord, how do you want me to serve you?
The whole year, take the time to do something gratuitous every day. Something with “no strings attached” to it. This good action could minimally be an attentive and insistent prayer for someone who does not suspect that you are offering him or her such a marvelous gift; therefore he/she will not return it directly to you.
Conclusion: By doing these or any good old habits or new resolutions for this new liturgical or church year, we will be responding to the two commands of our Lord. “Be vigilant” to see that there is always a door open for us to practice charity in little or big ways, and “pray” to know that it is God who saves us from this “fright” and the risks of despair in suffering. Our Advent and Year C efforts may consist of faithfully asking every morning, “How do I wish to stand before the Lord today?” And before retiring at night, “If I stood before you today Lord, what have you noticed about me?” This deep communion with the Lord in desire, practice and dialogical evaluation will keep us indeed alert, vigilant and prayerfully loving.
[1] There is a stressful kind of expectation in the story of Verna who “was wearing a T-shirt with the words: Be Nice to Me. I Had a Hard Day. Little Eric looked at the words and said, “How can you tell this early in the morning?” Our expectation is a living hope to see with our eyes God’s righteousness at home with us. We start on a journey full of promises and surprises. As some say, “There is no way one can take an unborn child to the hairdressers;” yet we do get, (without boredom), many things ready before its birth.
[2] I may want to ask the Lord for peace on earth, harmony in my family. I may think of asking him to live in his simplicity of heart, or his courage to draw closer to someone I really wish to help, with true generosity. I may want to offer Jesus the one thing I do well in this life, in gratitude. I may want to offer him the shortcoming I have failed to overcome, in humility and trust, or my neediness. I may consider offering some social progress I feel good about, or simply my perceived decline, in truth. I will then take this Advent season to meditate (as if buying and wrapping my gift), on my intended-offer to the Lord.
[3] In his second Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi, Saved in Hope, of November 30, 2007, par. 2, Pope Benedict XVI comments on this letter to the Thessalonians. He says, “Here too we see as a distinguishing mark of Christians the fact that they have a future: it is not that they know the details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness.”
[4] See 2 Sam 7: 12, “And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm.” And 2 Sam 7: 16, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.”
[5] A wisdom saying declares, “An untempted minister will never do us any good, and an untried man will talk over our heads.”
[6] See Deut. 18: 15, “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kinsmen; to him you shall listen.”
[7] 1 Cor. 15: 1 & 3.
[8] Mk 13: 37 is strongly explicit about this command, “What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” Mt 26: 41 or Mk 14: 34 goes further, “Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” You may also see how Moses prepares to receive the Law for the people in Deut. 9: 9 – 10, and how Jesus prepares for his ministry in Mt 4: 2 & 10. The acquisition of any good passes through some form of hardship/work. So is it with the true joy of Christmas, and with daily communion with the Lord.
[9] Saint Augustine, in his Sermons, 256, (see second reading in the Liturgy of the Hours, week 34), says, “You have entered upon a time of trial but you will come to no harm – God’s help will bring you through it safely. You are like a piece of pottery, shaped by instruction, fired by tribulation. When you are put into the oven therefore, keep your thoughts on the time when you will be taken out again; for God is faithful, and he will guard both your going in and your coming out.”
