My Sisters and Brothers:
It’s hard to believe another liturgical year has come to an end, and a new one now begins. As with every year on the First Sunday of Advent, and on the days to come, we are challenged by our Scriptures to contemplate the coming of a “New Day.” We believe when that day comes “the old and malevolent ways of doing things and of being” will have passed away. We trust that day will also mark the final and definitive coming of Jesus, the triumph of all truth and goodness, and the end of earthly existence as we know it.
The Prophet Isaiah, pondering such a future day, wrote the following: “In days to come . . . they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again” (see Isaiah 1:2a-4b). This is exactly what we long for as people of faith, and at the same time we’re painfully aware such a day has yet to come. We need only to read the newspaper, to watch the television, or to follow an internet feed to know this to be true.
Christians therefore understand Advent as more than simply a season for cheerful gatherings, colorful decorating, gleeful shopping, and joyful preparing for the festivities of Christmas. For us, this is also a time and an opportunity to reflect and to prepare spiritually for the day when all evil will be conquered, and when the fullness of the presence of God will decisively infuse and conquer everything on earth.
During these days, we are called to examine our personal and communal lives, and if necessary, to change any attitudes and/or behaviors that are contrary to the hopeful words and vision of Isaiah. We have this in mind as we begin another Advent, and as we once again pray fervently for the “Second Coming” of Jesus! During this season, we therefore ask ourselves: “Are we ready for that day?”
Jesus challenged his disciples in the Gospel to have such a spirit and desire to be ready when he said to them: “Stay awake! Be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (Matthew 24:42b,44b). This very same challenge, with a great sense of urgency, was spoken by St. Paul when he wrote: “Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep . . . for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand” (Romans 13:11-12a). And so, these are our more important focuses during this wonderful liturgical season of Advent as we once again prepare ourselves for that “New Day” when the Lord Jesus will come again!
My friends, let’s not lose our Advent focus! During this time, let’s have a great time with all our cheerful gatherings, our colorful decorating, our gleeful shopping trips, and our joyful preparing for the festivities of Christmas. But let’s not forget the message of our Christian faith, and our longing and readying for the day when the Lord Jesus will come again.
On that day, we believe the words of the Prophet Isaiah will triumph victoriously, and those “old and malevolent ways of doing things and of being” will be forever vanquished. And what a day of rejoicing it will be . . . And so today, and during this Advent season, and as we anticipate that future day, let’s ask ourselves again: Are we truly ready?
Praise God! Friar Timothy
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1 comment:
I always try to be prepared when the Lord will come again and sometimes I think how long is God going to put up with some of the things taking place in the world today like _all the babies being aborted and war in Ukraine.
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