Homily for the week of November 29, 2009

First Sunday of Advent (C) 2009

Jeremiah 33:14-16

1 Thes 3:12-4:2

Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36

Much of our life is filled with waiting. Most of us have spent more time waiting than in doing. Think of all the experiences of waiting which you've had. Waiting for the water to boil; for a friend to phone; for the traffic light to turn green; for the car ahead of you to decide where to turn; for the end of the day; for a friend to stop by; for a rose to open; for a hurt to heal, for a report from the doctor, for a class to end, for the sun to shine, for someone who cares, for a fish to bite, for a child to be born; for a thought to jell, for a decision to be made, for a sign of forgiveness, for a sign of love. Persons who are very time-conscious and impatient find even short waits almost intolerable and they get angry. What keeps us waiting is the hope that something positive may yet happen, that our waiting will prove to have been worthwhile, and that we can move forward with our lives

These are examples of CREATIVE waiting, not PASSIVE waiting where nothing will happen. In all of these we expect something to happen. But not all the waiting is expectation.

Patience is a word or a quality that most of us would like to have more of, especially as we prepare for Christmas. In 25 days many of you will be gathered here in church for Christmas Mass. When the Bible mentions patience, it usually means active waiting and hoping. As we begin a new church year, as we will soon bless the Advent wreath and light one of its candle, I want to focus on the Advent virtues of patience, hope, joy and fidelity as expressed through our Bible readings for today.

Today is New Years Day for the Catholic Church and for most Christian churches. It is the liturgical season of waiting. It is Advent, a time of waiting for the birth of the one promised to bring good news to the poor, deliverance to prisoners. It is a time of 25 days during which we are invited to make ourselves ready for the coming of Jesus much as any mother and father prepares for the birth of their first child. Advent means more than getting out the Christmas crib or the poinsettias or the Christmas tree.

The Bible readings for this first Sunday of Advent concern the situations of waiting and hoping. The prophet Jeremiah was waiting and hoping for an ideal descendant of King David who might bring security and justice to God’s people. Jeremiah was active in the early 6th century B.C. He saw clearly that his people would be defeated by the Babylonians, and that the temple city of Jerusalem would be captured and destroyed. Nevertheless, in the midst of this political chaos Jeremiah remained a person of hope. He was waiting for the Messiah of Israel and was convinced that his waiting would be rewarded. We Catholics believe that Jeremiah’s waiting and hoping were fulfilled in Jesus.

You might think that our Gospel reading for this weekend would look forward to the birth of Jesus. But it doesn't. It looks forward to what is called the second coming of Jesus which our faith tells us will be at the end of the world, at the end of time. The Gospel gives us all kinds of signs when that will happen: in the stars, the sky, the sun, the moon, and the oceans. It also urges us to be patient at all times. But for those who wait patiently and are faithful they can be certain that all will turn out well. The second coming of Christ is not to be feared but rather to be eagerly awaited. There is hope that it will bring perfect happiness for the faithful people of God. It is worth waiting for.

Our second reading is Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, It was written in A.D. 51. It is the earliest complete document in the New Testament. It is amazing to get a glimpse at the young Catholic church when it was just about 25 years old. Paul tells the young Catholics and also us how we are to behave in preparing for the coming of Jesus with all his holy ones. Paul is clearly speaking about the second coming of Christ. He too looks forward in hope to that event and exhorts the Thessalonians to behave in such a way that they may be found blameless and holy before God when it happens.

Why is there so much focus on the second coming of Christ on the first Sunday of Advent? We need to look at the word “advent.” Advent means coming, arriving, becoming present. In Advent we tend to think primarily about the first coming of Christ at his birth. But Jesus comes to us in other human and spiritual ways, such as in the sacraments, especially Holy Communion, in our everyday lives and at the moment of death.

Advent is a time of waiting and hoping, of renewing our trust in God’s merciful love and care and of reflecting on the several comings of Christ in our lives. The key New Testament word for Advent is “watching"— of keeping careful watch of ourselves and conducting our lives in such a way that we may be found blameless and holy before God.

Advent is also a time for proclaiming an end to the actions of our life that prevent us from giving birth. And because death is so difficult and so much to be avoided, then Advent, in a spiritual sense, can be considered as a time of suffering and self-denial. Advent comes at the shortest days of the year, the darkest of days almost as a reminder that we must take an honest look at how our lives can easily be filled with darkness. Advent is a time for us to admit that the coldness within us can hurt as much as the coldness our bodies sense from the outside.

But the hope of Advent is not that Jesus will come at the end of time -- it is not that Jesus will come some time in the future --not even as far away as tomorrow - but right now. Advent is taking place right now. But we must stay awake or we will miss His coming.

It seems that the Bible readings for this first week of Advent make patience and waiting a virtue or a good habit. Our concern is also making patience a good habit of our daily life. Lack of patience or joyful waiting usually makes us angry persons. And anger controls us physically, emotionally and spiritually. We can't get rid of, or avoid, the things or the people that make us angry, nor can we change them, but we can learn to be patient with them. Let us learn how to wait.

This Advent, as we wait for Christmas, let each of us try to accept delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.