The Christmas music has started up. It is particularly evident in the stores where the merchants are trying to get us in the Christmas mood of giving, or, at least, buying. It is not that way in the Church, though. Instead of Christmas decorations, there is the purple of Advent. We don’t sing Christmas carols yet. In fact, the beginning of Advent presents the exact opposite of the sweet and syrupy Christmas sentiments. Advent begins not with cribs and shepherds and Silent Night, but with the prophecy that God will make a powerful intervention in human history. Look at today’s Gospel. It is one of the scariest passages in Scripture: “People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming. The Son of Man will come on a cloud with power and great glory.”
God will step in and re-create His world. He will put an end to the exploitation of the poor and powerless. He will punish those who have turned the things of the world into their gods. He will make His presence known to those who think they have hidden themselves from His wrath. His people are to stand straight, raise their heads, for their redemption is at hand. They, we, are to pray for the strength to stand before the Son of Man.
Tough stuff. Not the stuff of Christmas Carols. But, again, this is the beginning of the Advent season, not Christmastime. Advent speaks about preparation and transformation. Preparation for the two comings of Christ. The first coming of the Lord began in Bethlehem two thousand years ago. He continued onto Jerusalem and Golgotha. He continues through us, the Lord’s disciples empowered by the Spirit, to lead the world to Christ. The second coming of the Lord is at the end of time, when Christ will judge those who have lived in love and light and those who have lived in darkness and hatred.
For us in the Northern hemisphere, Advent takes place during the darkest days of the year when there is the least sunlight. The darkest day of the year comes towards the end of Advent on December 21st. Advent is the season of hope because it reminds us that the dark time will come to an end, and that the light of Christ will triumph. Hatred, racism, abuse of all forms, broken relationships, indifference to human suffering, these are part of the dark times of the world. These abominations to God’s love will end. We as Church and as individuals are called to work towards their downfall. The transformation of the world from hatred to love is the work of the Christian. The season of Advent reminds us of the work we must do all year. Advent assures us that the work of God will be done as long as we live with God in our lives.
We must fight against the darkness. Advent demands that we ask ourselves where darkness has a hold in our lives. What must be changed for me, for you, to be people of light, not darkness. Maybe we need to give ourselves a Christmas gift by destroying anything in our lives that does not radiate Christianity. Certainly, we have to ask ourselves how we can bring light to those who are in darkness. Is there a gesture we can make to help someone feel better? Perhaps it might only be a smile, but that would be enough. Perhaps a courteous note in a Christmas card to someone who probably won’t receive many cards this year. Maybe we need to say “I’m sorry.” It won’t kill us, and there are few times we are totally innocent in an argument. Sometimes the most simple gesture on our parts can heal the body and soul of someone whose world is in darkness.
If we do not allow the light of the Lord to guide us and the fire of His Love to bring warmth to the world, we will be like those six people who were found dead in a cold cave, frozen to death. Their bodies were scattered around the ashes that had been their campfire on a tragic, frigid night. The story goes that each person had a log he or she could have placed on the fire to keep the fire alive, but each refused to do so. Each was convinced that he or she had a good reason for not offering his log. There was a homeless man would not give his log because there was also a rich man there. The rich man would not give his log because his contribution would warm someone who was, in his eyes, shiftless and lazy. There was a woman who would not offer her log because she wanted to strike a blow against the men who had for all of history put women down, after all the others around the fire were all men. Now there was a Moslem there. He would not give his log because there was also a Jew sitting by the fire. The Jew responded the same way. He wasn’t going to give his log up to allow a Moslem to survive. Nor would he share it to save the others, Christians who had persecuted his people throughout the ages. There was an African American there who decided that he would rather freeze to death as a statement against those around the fire whose ancestors had enslaved his ancestors. And so the fire died as each person withheld his or her log for reasons he or she were sure were justifiable. And the six froze to death.
The story was originally told in a poem. It ended with these tragic lines:
Six logs held fast in death’s still hand
was proof of human sin.
For they did not die from the cold without,
they died from the cold within.
(This poem is attributed to Rev. Siegfried S. Johnson by Fr. Tony Kadavil on the Vatican Radio homily site for Nov 11, 2012)
The world of coldness, and darkness and hatred is the world that Advent calls us to change. We have to begin with ourselves. We have to surrender any lingering hatred we may have towards anyone. Maybe its that person who really hurt us. A former boyfriend or girlfriend. A former husband or wife. A child who now as an adult has estranged himself or herself from our family for reasons we may never know. Or maybe its that person at work, at school, or in the neighborhood who tried to ruin the life of someone we love. Maybe we have a hidden prejudice against a group of people: gays, or blacks, or straights or whites. As long as we allow the hate to remain within us, we are freezing ourselves to death. We have to fight off the cold and darkness with the warmth of God’s love and the light of His life. We need to do this for others as well as ourselves. We cannot allow past hurts and present prejudices to destroy our opportunity to bring light to those in darkness. We must allow God’s love to flow through us.
This is the work of the Christian. This is the work of Advent. This is how we prepare the way for the Lord.
STAY AWAKE ALWAYS
The apocalyptic discourses that we read in all four gospels reflect the fears and uncertainties of those early Christian communities. They felt helpless and vulnerable within the vast Roman Empire, mostly at war and persecuted, and ever uncertain about their future, not knowing when their Lord and Saviour would come.
On the other hand, these writings echo, to a great extent, the
words of encouragement these same Christians gave one another, as they remembered Jesus’ own discourses. It was a call to stay awake, in prayer and trust, as a summary of His gospel and legacy.
Hence, these words we recall today, centuries later, are not addressed to them alone, but to us, Christians in the present Church, who are living
in a world with so many problems and uncertainties.
The Church today marches on, at times, like an old woman that is bent over by the weight of so many years of struggles and persecution. With a head bowed down, and aware of her own sins and mistakes, this Church
cannot simply recourse to her own proud past and power. Rather, it is a time to listen once more to the message that Jesus is addressing to us all.
“Stand Up”, and encourage one another. “Raise your heads” with confidence. Do not look at the future from your own expectations and fears. “Your liberation is near.” The day is coming when you will not be
bent down, oppressed or totally discouraged. Jesus is your Liberator.
Still there are so many situations in life that deprive us from walking with our heads held high, in hope of a final liberation. Hence,
“be careful that your mind isn’t dulled.” Don’t get used to a life of hardened and insensible hearts, seeking only the pleasures and comforts of life, and turning your backs on your Heavenly Father and his suffering children on earth. Such life style will make you ever so much less human.
“Stay awake always.” Awaken the faith of your communities. Pay more attention to my Gospel. Make my presence felt among your people. Do not fall asleep. Pray for strength: you cannot follow in Jesus’ footsteps except with His Father’s help. That’s the only way to remain His disciples.
AWAKE– The Reason for the Season
Advent is the beginning of our wait and preparation for the coming of the Lord. The goal of Advent is not just Christmas. The goal is to prepare us for the next coming of Christ. Our preparations for Christmas can distract us from the true goal of the season. We prepare, and then we celebrate. Advent, therefore, reminds us of a ‘beginning’ – the Birth or First Coming of Christ and of the ‘end’ – the final coming that will complete the history of salvation. In between these two comings, we live in the historical stage of Church and Spirit, and our attitude must have these two elements: vigilance and expectation.
The three W’s that are used to describe the season of Advent ( Wake up, Wait on and Watch out ) are really three dimensions of one single word – Hope. This hope or expectation must be both enlightened and involved.
Staying awake and in a state of alertness and watchfulness will prepare us to see, even from a distance, the imminent coming of the Lord. Power, money and possessions often render us insensitive and blind to the obvious signs of His Advent – arrival and presence! When He comes, we shall all be brothers and sisters sitting at the same table. There will be no more ‘monsignori’, ‘eminences’, ‘excellencies’, ‘reverend’ or ‘holiness’!
Lord, help us to stay away from anything that is not part of your kingdom: injustice, lies, hatred, slavery, useless distinctions and struggles for power. The early Christians were fully focused on Christ. They gave Him their complete attention. They waited for Him!
A good Christian father was trying to stay awake as he warmed up the formulas for the baby’s two A.M. feeding. In an attempt to survive the seemingly endless time it took for the baby to finish her bottle, he decided to heed Jesus’ advice and pray. He said…
“I was amazed to discover the things we can pray for at 2 AM: the wonder of a newborn babe; the healing silence of the night; the people I know who are lonely or in pain; the mystery of love. These and many other things crowded into my mind, as I became intensely aware of God’s presence in the middle of the night.”
Stay awake to the reality that Christ is coming to present you with a new opportunity to love each member of your family unconditionally, to carry the spirit of love into a fearful, messy world. The message from God to us is unforgettable: “As I have loved you, you must love one another!”
MESSAGE FOR YOU Stay awake!
“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and glory”. Luke 21:27
The warning message and the catastrophic events described in today’s Gospel Message are enough to have us all kneeling: “Flee to the mountains! Get out of the city!” These are days of vengeance … great distress shall be on the earth and wrath upon the people … and there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars … men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud” (Lk. 21:21-23, 25-27).
Over the centuries there have been various explanations and interpretations of these words spoken by Jesus. Some have maintained, with good reason, that Jesus used this dramatic language to forecast the destruction of Jerusalem. Others have seen it as a forecast of conditions that will prevail at the end of human history. Still others have held that the passage refers to Divine revelation through Christ continuing and progressing through all the twists and turns of world history. But amid all these explanations, one fact emerges and remains relevant and true: The Lord is coming!
Today begins the Season of Advent — the season of Christ’s coming.
If you have visited churches in the Middle East, you may have noticed the egg-shaped objects that are present in some of them. But did you know that they are intended to represent ostrich eggs. Why ostrich eggs? The explanation is that when a mother ostrich lays her eggs on the beach, she quickly covers them with sand so as to protect them from other animals. Actually, she hides them so well that if ever she were to look away from the spot she would lose them. Consequently, she stands at rigid attention, focusing exclusively on the hiding place, looking neither left nor right. The symbolism is used to call worshippers to attention. It is to remind them that when they come to worship they are to focus exclusively on God and allow nothing to distract them.
In like manner, today’s Scripture lesson is calling us to attention. The “Son of Man” is coming with great power and glory, and nothing in the world should be allowed to distract us from this reality.
Those early Christians were fully focused on Christ. They gave Him their full attention. They revered His words. They prayed to Him. Above all, they loved Him.
Stay awake to the possibility that Christ is coming to present you with a new opportunity to experience God’s unconditional love at the deepest level of your being.
Stay awake to the possibility that Christ is coming to present you with a new opportunity to love each member of your family unconditionally.
Stay awake to the possibility that Christ is coming to present you with a new opportunity to carry the Spirit of Love into a fearful, greedy world.