First Sunday of Advent (C); 11-28-2021

Jer 33:14-16.  Ps 25.  1 Thes 3:12-4:2.  Lk 21:25-28,34-36

Deacon Jim McFadden

         At the start of the new liturgical year, Advent begins, which prepares us for Christmas—inviting us to lift our gaze to Jesus and open our hearts to him so that he may be born within us at a deeper level of faith.  During Advent we just don’t count the days until Christmas arrives, but we’re called to rekindle the anticipation that the Risen and glorious Christ may return to us at a more intimate and closer communion.  Such an anticipation presupposes that we’re going to make consistent and courageous choices to be with him, which points to the final encounter with him on the Last Judgment.  So, we’re orientating ourselves towards Christmas, awaiting the return of Christ in a new and transformative way, and also our own personal encounter on the day the Lord will call.  So, there’s a lot going on this Advent: the question is—are we really waiting for Jesus?

            During these four weeks of Advent, we have to extricate ourselves from a redundant, routine way of living and go forward nourishing hope, nourishing dreams that my life, our life, can get better despite what our culture throws our way.  This Sunday’s Gospel from St. Luke uses apocalyptic language that says our egocentric, self-referential world is falling apart and there is only one absolute permanent reality.  The Word of God is coming among us (Immanuel) and he will proclaim, live, and usher in the one final reality: THE KINGDOM OF GOD.  Since there is only one absolute reality, the question arises are we ready to let go of our world?

            The Gospel challenges us to guard against an egocentric lifestyle in which we behave as if I’m the center of my world, my life is about me, and I’m in control.  Coupled with a frenetic lifestyle fueled by the social internet, our consciousness can be dulled to the coming of the Lord.  So, Jesus words really get into our face: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise…Be vigilant at all times and pray…” (vv. 34,36).

            That’s the key, brothers and sisters: be mindful and pray.  This is how we should live between now and Christmas.  To be mindful how the Holy Spirit is at work among and within us.  And, to pray constantly!  Inner disquietude, anxiety, listlessness always come about by turning in upon ourselves, which blocks the movement of grace within our hearts.  This constant repetition of living out of my Ego-Drama is wearying, dreadfully dull, which closes us off from the hope of the Good News.  Here lies at the crux  of our spiritual lethargy and laziness.  Advent invites us to a commitment to be vigilant, to live with a sacred awareness that we “move, live, and have our being in Christ Jesus.”  To do so, we have to go beyond our puny ego, expanding our mind and heart by a robust and renewed prayer life which draws us deeper into the mystery of God and, at the same time, to the needs of our brothers and sisters.  As we draw closer to God through prayer, we will, at the same time, be attentive to the cries of the anawim, who are tormented by hunger, by injustice, and by war.  As Jesus reminds us in Matthew 25, God takes the side of the poor and marginalized and if we’re praying rightly, we will ask ourselves about how and for whom we’re expending our lives.

            That’s why Advent should be a time of renewed and vigorous prayer.  Indeed, the best way to await the Lord is through prayer. The Gospel cautions us , arise, “look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near”

 (v. 28).  It’s about standing up in the here and now, which is sacred ground because God is present, and praying—turning our thoughts and hearts to Jesus.  As members of his mystical Body, the Church, we just don’t pray to Jesus, but we pray in Jesus knowing that he is going to come to us at a deeper level of faith.  In prayer, we stand awaiting for him to come.  We wait for Jesus and the best way to do that is to  go into the Quiet and simply be with him: as God says through the Psalmist, Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:11). 

            People of God, we need to be vigilant because there is so much going on in our society that can distract us from Advent preparation. Praying, awaiting Jesus, opening ourselves to others, being mindful of the gift of each day, not giving into the rush of rampant consumerism or the false narrative of a worldly  celebration will prepare us for the Coming of the Christ Child into our lives.  Otherwise, Jesus may pass us by and we will not find him.  But, we will await Jesus and we do so in prayer, which is closely linked to vigilance.

            One may ask: what is the horizon of our prayerful anticipation.  Where is all this preparation leading us?  In the Old Testament, we have the prophetic witness and today we hear from Jeremiah who speaks to people harshly treated during their Babylonian Exile in which they nearly lost their identity of being God’s Chosen People.  We, Catholic Christians too are also the People of God, the Church, who run the risk of becoming worldly and losing our identity.  Indeed, we have become so assimilated into our post-modern secular culture, that many of us function as “baptized pagans,” in which we have paganized the Christian way of Jesus.  Therefore, our interpretive lens should not be a secular consciousness but the Word of God, which the prophet proclaims: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah…I will raise up for David a just shoot; he shall do what is right and just in the land” (Jer 33:14-15).  And, that righteous branch is Jesus.  It is Jesus who comes and whom we await.  And,  during this time of anticipation we have a great ally in our Blessed Mother, who leads us to her son, strengthens our hope in the promises of her Son, Jesus, and enables us to remain steadfast in our commitment to Him.  Amen.