1st Sunday Advent year C Vigilant Hope!!! 2-12-12
1st Reading Jer. 33:14-16 The Institutions of the future.
2nd Reading 1st Thess. 3:12-4:2 Paul exhorts Christians to live in holiness and Charity.
Lk 21:25-28, 34-36 Cosmic disasters and glorious coming of the Son of man, reveals us to be alert.
The Psalmist teaches us that God’s ways are faithfulness and love.
Love frequently expresses itself in promises and promises demand faithful fulfillment.
Jeremiah speaks of God’s promises to the House of Israel and the House of Judah.
Those promises, however, were only further expressions of the first and basic promise that God gave us: he would send us a saviour, born of a woman (Genesis 3:13).
As we begin our celebration of Advent, we look back to that first promise and realize that it contains the essence of the Gospel which gives us light and life.
A promise cannot be coerced but must be freely given.
So all of God’s promises, particularly that first promise, were freely given: they were given through grace and their fulfilment was also an act of grace. So “all is grace”, as Saint Paul says (Rom 4:16).
Using the words of St Paul to the Thessalonians, the Church today urges us to make more and more progress in the kind of life we are meant to live, that is to say, the life of our baptism promises the life of grace.
Jeremiah’s prophesies make the reader to face the world with hope and not to despair.
Discerning the spirit of God will help us to see all that happens around us to be alert to face it.
We see people despairing and loosing hope because often the present scenario is not very encouraging to people who are living in hope.
We are shown how a people who trusted in the power of God who would raise from the stock of David a redeemer.
In today’s message Jeremiah cleverly reminds the hearer of the eternal enduring promise of God almighty.
Surely for us, who have experienced God’s closeness in resignation to his will, can we say we are happy to be celebrating the Advent of the lord to celebrate Christmas?
In the second reading in the Thessalonian’s letter we hear how Paul has been encouraging the believing community to live lives worthy of their choice as believers.
Those days it might have been the way to instruct people so intimately.
Today when we go to church to attend Eucharist as believing community, our lives have to change reasonably well.
Our lives have to radiate Christ’s liberating love of which he speaks to his listeners.
We are the same as Paul’s disciples who listened to his instructions.
In the Gospel cosmic disasters are announced to show Christ is the master of the nature.
When he eventually appears we will be at his right side.
We have to stand erect because our liberation is near at hand.
Our vigilant watchfulness will surely allow us to see him as he is- loving, caring and comforting.
Jesus loves us with all our faults, not because we are worthy but he has loved us in spite of all these defects to free and liberate us..
So this Advent will enable us to be patiently waiting for the lord.
Jesus has entered into our lives he still expects us to allow the door of our hearts to be opened widely!!!
How can we open the door wide when we face financial recession all over the world?
When people have lost jobs?
Their children who used to attend the best schools are left to go to public schools?
Where they have to struggle to get even the basics amenities for their living.
When the social structures of large families are disintegrating.
Single parent families emerge, same sex marriages are becoming legal, abortion is not considered sin, where fetus is aborted with no fear of sin, can we still be a believing community who can remain steadfast in hope and be vigilant in waiting to be liberated?
Yes surely we are testimonies of God’s deliverance.
He has he it is who has chosen us to be his testimony of love.
We read so many testimonies of people who attend retreat and testify for a miracle.
Can we do the same as general Christians who live our everyday lives as testimony of love?????
I invite all of you just to live your lives joyfully!!!!!
Wishing you a fruitful advent,
Yours ever in the divine word,
Fr. Juze Vaz svd
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