1st Sunday of Advent
Year B 2014
Hard
to believe it is here already, but it is Advent. Time for the Church to don purple vestments
and put out our Advent wreathe. Advent
has always been one of my favorite times of year. I love Christmas parties, Christmas cards,
presents, cookies, cakes, etc… No wonder I always gain weight at
Christmas. Anyway, this is a joyful time
of year.
When
describing Advent, one document of the Church called it a time of joyful and
devout expectation. So, this week we are
going to talk about joy. Next week
devout, and so on. Joy is a deep and
profound reality. And while I think
there is joy during this season, Christians should experience joy all year
round. Joy is much more than bubbly
exuberance. I think when people think
about joy they usually think about that valley girl from the 80’s: “Oh my gosh,
I’m soooo excited.” But, that kind of
joy is fleeting, especially in the face of the trials and tribulations of
life. Joy and Advent go hand in hand
because the coming of Christ is the source of our joy.
While
I’m up here talking all about joy, we have in the background the words of
Christ that were just read. Be watchful,
be alert. The master is away and he
might be coming back at any minute. What
is your reaction to this text? Does it
immediately fill you with joy? Or does
it make you feel anxious or worried?
It
is a fundamental part of the Christian message that we expect Jesus to come
again. If you notice we talk about it in
the Creed, we talk about in the Eucharistic prayer, and every year during
Advent we remember that Christ will come again.
Christ’s coming is not just something to think about during Advent, it
should saturate our whole Christian existence.
But, it makes us nervous, or because of the uncertainty, we tend to
think about it as something happening a long way off. So, we are either afraid of Christ’s coming,
or we don’t think about it. This is why
it is tough for us to be filled with joy when we think about Christ’s coming.
Let this be a time
of year for us to renew our appreciation for the coming of Jesus. I think we need to remember just who it is
that is coming to us. Our image of Jesus
changes the way we look for his coming.
If we think of him as an angry tyrant bent on punishing the wicked, then
we will be fearful and afraid. If we
think of him as the good shepherd who was sent to seek out the lost, we might
have a different opinion. If we remember
that God so loved the world that he sent his beloved son, and that he sent his
beloved son not to condemn the world, but to save the world, we might have a
different opinion. If we think of Christ
like the father in the story of the prodigal son, always on the lookout for us,
his lost children, we might have a different opinion.
Today Christ tells
us to watch, wait. He will come
anytime. This is exciting news! Kids, just think of all the homework you
won’t have to do if Christ comes back.
Parents, just think of all those mortgage payments you won’t have to
make. Think of the end of death,
sadness, sickness, mourning. The end of
suffering, the end of violence, the end of war, the end of sin.
If we start to
think about the coming of Christ in these terms, I think our hearts will be
full of joy. We know that this day is
coming. We continue to live our lives
each day, we continue to meet our responsibilities and tackle our burdens. But, we know that the pain, suffering, and
difficulties of this life are temporary.
The kingdom of Christ will last forever.
Advent is a season to renew our joy, to renew our faith in Christ, to
renew our desire to see him face to face.
As we receive this Holy Eucharist, we welcome Jesus into our hearts
asking him to prepare us for that day.
Jesus says watch, be ready; we say, come Lord Jesus.
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