First Sunday of Advent Year A
Isaiah 2:1-5
Ps. 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:37-44
Advent is a season of waiting. We hear the invitation to “be prepared.” We are called to expect and to wait for the coming of the Lord, the Son of Man. Yet we are also told that it will happen at a time that we cannot anticipate. There is a paradox here, as if we are being told to “hurry up and wait!”
Waiting with expectation, in awareness of longing, is different than simply being bored while waiting. We are not “waiting for Godot.” Rather, we are waiting for God to manifest Himself as the God of the universe, the Lord of time and history, who is ushering us into eternity.
The human experience of waiting for someone that we are eager to see is a helpful image for the expectant waiting of Advent. We watch the horizon, we check the time, we seek affirmation that the coming is promised and will surely happen. Advent is meant to be this kind of waiting.
“Jesus is coming! Look busy!” is a humorous reminder of the importance of the One Who is soon to arrive, but we are called not just to look busy. We must be prepared, ready and waiting with an attitude of openness.
Unfortunately, Advent comes at a very busy time and waiting may not be easy for us. We want an immediate response to our requests. We become demanding of one another without paying any attention to what others are doing. This is a time of great stress. Advent and Christmas are meant to bring delight and peace and joy. How can we open our hearts to these gifts?
Many years ago, teenagers in many dioceses attended Teens Encounter Christ (TEC) retreats. (Some still do!) One of the mottos for the retreat was “Don’t anticipate, participate.” There was a schedule, but each part was built on those that came before. To experience Christ, it was necessary to “get in there” at each moment. So, for Advent, since our expectation is to receive Christ at Christmas, we ought to live in the moment. Each day, each week, each candle is able to offer something special. We prepare for Christmas by participating.
What will Advent bring? Week one ushers us into the season. Isaiah calls us: “Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” So, let us go to the holy mountain, the place where we worship together. Mass each weekend is a start. Daily Mass, visits to church and to the tabernacle for quiet meditation on the readings of the season, especially those of Isaiah, all these can serve to slow us down to listen more profoundly to God’s voice speaking in our hearts. So, “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord!”
Reconciliation will be celebrated with penitents and confessors gathering. Let us make a good confession. Gatherings for Scripture studies or presentations on the Advent themes are made available. Let us make time for these, with an intentional stepping back from the hustle and bustle of the secularized season.
The theme of light in darkness matches the winter season. Our religious activities and gatherings bring us to deeper knowledge of God’s ways and a greater commitment to live in accord with our faith. In this way, we rise above the darkness all around us. St. Paul exhorts us: “Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day.”
Advent can be a time of personal renewal and growth, but this will be so only if we choose to allow it to penetrate into our lives. Many are in need of hope, which we can offer if we live our faith in concrete and intentional ways. “Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”
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