First Sunday of Advent
(Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14a; Matthew 24:37-44)
Downton Abbey, the hugely successful television drama, tells
of an aristocratic family living in an old English monastery with many
servants. In the first episode, a middle-class man is having coffee with his
mother. This man is passed a letter with the news that he is the heir to the
abbey. His mother asks him what the letter says. He replies, "Our lives
are going to change." It is true because henceforth they are going to live
in luxury. In the gospel today Jesus says that the lives of his disciples will
change as suddenly and completely as this man's.
Jesus was talking to his disciples about the end of time.
When asked when it will happen, Jesus responded with a discourse. In it he says
that there will be much deceit and that the Temple will be desecrated. Then he
will arrive to lead his people into his kingdom. For this reason, he advises
them to watch because it will happen as suddenly as lightning.
But what does he mean to "watch"? For Jesus,
watching does not consist in keeping one's eyes fixed on the horizon. Rather,
his disciples watch for his coming by doing good works. As firefighters
anticipate fighting fires by doing various exercises, Christians anticipate the
Lord by works of mercy.
If we do not prepare ourselves with good works, Jesus warns that
we will be lost. We will be like the man left in the field or the woman left at
the mill when he arrives to gather his followers together. In the second
reading St. Paul describes the lost (that is, people who do not watch) with
striking words. He says that they engage in binge eating and drinking, debauchery
and lust instead of acting like Jesus Christ.
We have this Advent season to reflect on the coming of
Jesus. It has three strata which we will take in reverse order as it is done in
the liturgies. First, we consider his coming at the end of time. We want to be
ready for it whenever it occurs. Second, we will reflect on his coming as proclaimer
of God’s Kingdom. We focus on John the Baptist, his forerunner, who describes
for us both Jesus’ mission and his greatness. Finally, at the end of Advent, we
will contemplate the incarnation when the Son of God came into the world as the
son of Mary and Joseph.
During these reflections we will face a dilemma. It's
Christmas time. All around us people are busy with material concerns: gifts,
parties, and vacations. The question is, are we going to prepare for the Lord
or are we going to become caught up in physical longings? Advent is not Lent
when we do penance. However, the season requires the attention of our spirit.
At least we should pray more to prepare our hearts to welcome the Lord.
Let us conclude with a reflection on the wonderful vision of
the prophet Isaiah in the first reading. It is a panorama of the world at
peace. Because armies no longer need weapons to kill, they forge them into
harvesting tools to sustain life. The desires of the people are softened and
their passions calmed. The prophet had this vision for the Temple in Jerusalem.
However, we Christians have adapted it in accordance with our experience of the
Lord Jesus. He is the sacrifice and altar that put an end to wars among
nations. He is the justice that satisfies the world’s deepest yearnings.
