Jer 33:14-16 | Ps 25 | 1 Thes 3:12-4:2 | Lk 21:25-28, 34-36
On this First Sunday of Advent, we begin a new Church year. We start our journey anew in anticipation of the birth of our Lord and Savior, who is Emmanuel (God with us). Advent is a time of waiting on the Lord, who is always true to his promises.
During the season of Advent, we hear the fulfillment of God’s promise made to the people of Israel and Judah as proclaimed by the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah, whose name means “the Lord lifts up,” is warned to prepare himself to stand against hatred and opposition from his own people. Jeremiah remains focused on the word of the Lord as he witnesses the destruction and leveling of the holy city and the temple. For us, imagine if Rome was invaded and Saint Peter’s, the largest church in all of Christendom, destroyed. In the midst of this devastation and demolition, God promises Jeremiah that the captivity of his people will last for only seventy years and that God will make a new covenant with God’s people, raising up a just shoot from the house of David. (This “just shoot” is captured in Michelangelo’s David, with a stump sculpted against his right foot).
This new covenant is rooted on principles that are not like those underlying the Mosaic covenant. This new covenant, unlike the former, will not give God’s people a law written on stone but will instead transform human hearts from within. God will inscribe holiness on the hearts of God’s people. Thus, when the people come to know the Lord in a personal way and are forgiven their sins, a new dawn of righteousness and truth will break.
As Christians we simply have to look at the Lord, Emmanuel, to know and believe that God’s promise has been fulfilled in the incarnation of God’s own Son. Jeremiah’s promise of something new has been kept.
In the significant passage from his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reflects on his intimate relationship with this community of believers. Paul wants his followers to understand the life-giving importance of warm and loving interpersonal relationships among the members of the Body of Christ. If we are to share the Gospel effectively in building up the Body of Christ, we need to develop the kind of relationships described by our brother, Paul. We must increase in love and be found blameless in holiness. Sharing the Gospel of Christ with others cannot be impersonal or based solely on words. Sharing the Gospel most effectively calls for bonds of love and open communication.
Along these lines, you may have heard of the Synod Pope Francis has called for. Between now and February, you’ll be hearing about how you, as the Body of Christ, can participate in this synod: an opportunity for the Church to simply listen as to where the heads and hearts of the Christian faithful are at this time in history. This fits nicely into the second mark of our mission statement: gracious welcoming. The Church is prepared to listen and welcome the thoughts of your hearts surrounding the gift of our Catholic faith.
In Luke’s Gospel (to which we now turn in Year C of the cycle of readings) Jesus describes different aspects of the end times, but he does not give a step-by-step timeline for the sequence of events. What he does tell us is that we must stay awake and be ready at all times.
We must remain watchful “for we know not the day or the hour in which the Son of Man will appear.” We must remain vigilant and pray without ceasing for our redemption may be at hand.
Many of us might say that surely the end times are upon us. Our world has been turned upside down. Gun violence, deadly pandemics, racial unrest, and climate catastrophes all impact our everyday lives. We are fearful and apprehensive. How do we respond?
First, every generation has thought the time in which they were living were the end times. Saint Paul thought Jesus was coming back in his own day. We must not be afraid. Instead, we must remain vigilant and faithful. We must pray unceasingly that God will give us the strength to stand firm in the Word where our strength is to be found.
Advent reminds us of this reality. So, let us invite the Lord to come in the fullness of power and glory so we may know that our redemption, truly, is at hand!