1^st Sunday of Advent (C); December 1, 2024

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

Deacon Jim McFadden

       There is much anticipation in the air.  At the start of a new liturgical year, Advent begins as we eagerly await the Christ child among us and all the blessings and transformations that this infant brings.  During Advent we just don’t count the days until December 25^th, but we enkindle the anticipation that the Risen Christ may return to us in a more intimate and closer communion.  Such anticipation presupposes that we are going to make consistent and constant choices to be with him, which points to our ultimate encounter at the Last Judgment. 

            During these four weeks we are called to leave behind a resigned and routine way of life in which we practice the “same old same old,” but venture forth with a sense hope, of nourishing dreams that we can come closer to God and to each other.  But for that to happen this Sunday’s Gospel (cf. Lk 21:25-28,34-36) challenges us to be aware of the pitfalls of an egocentric lifestyle or the frenetic pace of our digital driven culture.  Jesus’ words resonate in an incisive, in-your-face way: “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 like a trap…Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man” (Lk 21:34—36).

            Beware– be mindful; pray!  This is how we should spend our time between now and Christmas.  Sometimes our fast-pace lifestyle can leave us with no energy, enthusiasm; we’re tired and we become unwilling to do anything that requires effort, especially going into the interior to being with God.  We can become engulfed by the demands of our life with all of our problems, with the high moments that seem to come infrequently, and the sufferings of the world which seem unrelenting—all of this engenders a drama that turns around the ego.    All of this is  wearying; this is dull; this is the stuff that stifles hope.  Here lies the lethargy and laziness that the Gospel speaks.  Advent invites us to be VIGILANT, to look beyond ourselves, expanding our mind and heart to the presence of our Lord and the needs of our brothers and sisters.  As we are attentive to the Christ Child, we will, at the same time, be attentive to those who are suffering, tormented by hunger, injustice, and war because Jesus assures us that he is present in the least of his brethren (cf. Mt 25:31-45).  Advent is the favorable time to open our hearts, to ask concrete questions how and for whom we are expending our lives.

            What disposition can cultivate vigilance?  The best way to experience Advent, of awaiting the Lord, is PRAYER.  We hear in today’s Gospel:  “stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand” (v. 28). The Gospel of Luke is challenging us to stand up and pray, turning our thoughts and our hearts to Jesus who is to come.  We await Jesus and we do so in prayer, which is closely linked to vigilance.  Prayer, opening our heart and soul to his Presence, opens us at the same time  to others, being mindful of them as human beings, not being drawn into the into the trap of consumerism, which commodifies ourselves and others: “I consume, therefore I am!”—to paraphrase Rene Descartes.  If Advent just becomes a secular, worldly celebration—only 24 more shopping days until Christmas!—then Jesus will pass by and we will not find him.  So, we await Jesus in prayer, which is closely linked to vigilance. 

            May the Virgin Mary, who leads us to her Jesus, a woman of expectation and prayer, help us to strengthen our hope in the promises of her Son Jesus, in order to enable us to understand that through the travails of our moment in history that God always remains steadfast and present to us now and forever!  Amen. 

Reflection Questions:

1. Be mindful; pray!  How are you going to spend your time between now and Christmas?
2. Advent calls us to be vigilant; what does that look like in your daily life?
3. Does your prayer life draw you closer to the Lord Jesus.  How so?  If not, why not?