FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
(Isaiah 63: 16-17,19,64: 2-7; I Corinthians 1: 3-9; Mark 13:
33-37)
Can't it be said that the world is now waiting for its
savior? Today everyone yearns for salvation in the form of a vaccine for Covid.
We are tired of covering our faces, confining ourselves to the house, and
suspecting every stranger as a carrier of the virus. However, the vaccine will
be a false messiah. Even if it saves us from Covid, it will only return us to
the same selfishness and greed that have prevailed in our time.
First, let us recognize how the pandemic has revealed some
flaws in our lifestyles. With confinement, families have spent more time
together with the result that adolescents feel less anxiety. The many
activities of each member of the family had produced a sense of facing the
challenges of life alone. Also, by taking classes with Zoom, children have not
had to get up early in the morning. More sleep has reduced stress. This is not
to say that the pandemic is a good thing and that the vaccine will not be
helpful. But we must recognize that the
vaccine will not deliver us from our most serious problems.
The first reading today is from the third part of the book
of the prophet Isaiah. It was penned 2,500 years ago, but it sounds like it
could have been typed last year. People have turned away from God's
commandments. Where God has said, "You shall not kill," abortion is
increasingly acceptable. Where He has said, "You will keep he Lord's day
holy," mass attendance continues to decline. It is not necessary to
comment on the violations against the sixth and ninth commandments in our time.
The reading has its finger on the pulse of our time when it asks the Lord:
"Why ... do you let our hearts harden to the point of not being afraid of
you?" For this reason, it asks God to come down from heaven though it
means tearing open the skies and shaking the mountains.
We believe that God heeded the prophet's cry. In the second
reading, Saint Paul tells how Jesus Christ died and rose again to give his
followers a “spiritual gift.” We have the grace of the Holy Spirit to live for
God even more than for ourselves.
Before his death Jesus said that he was going to return to
lead his disciples to eternal life. In anticipation of this event, he tells us
in the gospel today to “watch” and “be alert.” This does not mean that we leave
our jobs to watch like a sailor in a crow's nest. Rather, Jesus wants us to
watch for him as students awaiting the visit of the school principal. That is, he
wants us to spend our time advancing in truth, love, and goodness.
There is a story that helps us understand the purpose of
Jesus here. Once a legislature was in session when a storm arosein the heavens. The clouds were so
dark and the wind so strong that some legislators said the end of the world had
come. A group moved that they end the session to return to their homes. But the
president of the legislature spoke up.
He said, “If it is not the end, we are going to appear ridiculous leaving
our work unfinished. And if it is the end, it would be better if the Lord sees
us accomplishing our tasks. I say: 'bring in the candles.'" Thus we want
to prepare for the coming of the Lord by doing his will.
Advent always has two goals. At the beginning of the season
we want to remember the promise of Jesus to come again. He came once in the
flesh to save us from sin. At the end of time he will come in glory to lead his
disciples to eternal life. The second objective is to prepare for Christmas.
The mystery of the Incarnation overwhelms our imagination. God, the Creator and
Sovereign, wanted to humble himself to show us the extent of his love! It is
worth a month of lockdown to prepare ourselves for this great event.
