Homily for the First Sunday of Advent

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent (Year B)

READINGS:

First Reading: Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Gospel: Mark 13:33-37

FOCUS: The season of Advent invites to watch, to wait, and to pray as we prepare for Christ’s coming.

FUNCTION: Live this Advent in an intentional way, by focusing on works of charity and prayer.

          Welcome to Advent, the very beginning of the Church’s new liturgical year!  Last Sunday, we ended the Church’s previous liturgical year with the Solemnity of Christ the King, and now we begin the Church’s new year of grace with this holy season that invites us to prepare for the birth of Christ.  Several things have changed since last Sunday, as you’ve probably noticed: now we priests will be wearing purple (or “violet”) instead of green, we did not sing the Gloria, and we now prepare to celebrate one of the biggest feasts of the Church’s liturgical year: the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord— aka Christmas— on December 25^th.  Advent truly is a season of great joy and new beginnings!

          And as I’ve already mentioned, today also marks the implementation of the new Roman Missal.  Yes, it’s a change from what we’re used to, and we all know that change can often be hard to handle.  But this change also brings with it a wonderful and unique opportunity: the chance to allow what we say and do here at Mass to be something even more intentional, something even more purposeful, and something even more meaningful.  And we are blessed to be given that opportunity in the holy season of Advent, a sacred time during which the Church prepares to celebrate the birth of Christ.  And so let’s pray that we might truly receive the many blessings and graces that God would like to give us during this wonderful time of prayer and preparation.

          Advent invites us to watch, to wait, and to pray as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.  But often our “spiritual A.D.D.” kicks in and we get distracted by other concerns and other expectations.  So maybe it’s helpful for us to think about Advent from the perspective of Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  On March 25^th we celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation— the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of God’s promised Messiah.  Thankfully, Mary said “Yes” to the Archangel’s announcement.  At the Annunciation, the Word of God— the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity and the only Son of God— was made flesh in her holy womb and would later be known to us as Jesus of Nazareth.

          As of right now, it has been 8 months since the Solemnity of the Annunciation.  Figuratively, then, with this Advent season, we are observing the final month of Mary’s pregnancy as preparation for the birth of her Son.  Now, if Our Lady had a Facebook or Twitter account, we could keep up with her pregnancy through her various “baby bump” photos or her “tweets.”  But, unfortunately for us, the Mother of God lived two thousand years before the invention of Facebook or Twitter.  And so we’ll just have to prepare for the birth of her only Son the old-fashioned way: by watching, waiting, and praying.

          While it’s obvious that Advent is about preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ, there’s also another equally important aspect of Advent that sometimes gets overlooked in the midst of the focus on Christmas: namely, the anticipation and preparation for the second coming of Christ at the end of time.  In the Universal Norms for the Liturgical Year and the General Roman Calendar, the Church says, “Advent has a twofold character, for it is a time of preparation for the solemnities of Christmas, in which the First Coming of the Son of God to humanity is remembered, and likewise a time when, by remembrance of this, minds and hearts are led to look forward to Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time.  For these two reasons, Advent is a period of devout and expectant delight.”

          Our readings for this First Sunday of Advent wonderfully blend together these two aspects.  In the first reading, we heard a prayer for God’s coming: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before You, while You wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old.  No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but You doing such deeds for those who wait for Him.  Would that You might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of You in our ways!”  What a powerful and appropriate prayer for us to pray this Advent season!  --- Yes, Lord God, “rend the heavens and come down” to us!  ---

          The Gospel, likewise, calls us to watch, to wait, and to pray.   Jesus says, “Be watchful!  Be alert!”  Jesus’ coming is like a person who travels abroad and leaves his servants in charge and on the look-out for his return.  And so Jesus says, “Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.  May He not come suddenly and find you sleeping.  What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”  Jesus’ words could be our theme for Advent: be on the watch… remain vigilant… stay awake… don’t get lazy… remember to pray. 

          So what’s that look like in practice?  Well, for one, be intentional about observing Advent with a spirit of expectant faith.  It’s about more than just putting up Christmas lights.  This Advent, focus on works of charity: help out those who are less fortunate, make a special donation to the Church or to some other Catholic charitable organization, participate in a food drive to help out under-privileged and needy families, give away some of those clothes, toys, etc. that you no longer need, secretly pay for someone else’s meal when you go out to eat, or tell other people about the love of God and the hope you have as a Catholic.  And of course there are many more ways that you can be intentional about observing Advent this year. 

          But most especially, pray that Christ might be born not only in some lowly and far away manger, but pray that He might be born within your heart in an even greater and more profound way.  This Advent, let Christ live in and through you.  In short, let’s make this Advent an Advent to remember, because Jesus is the reason for the season! 

          Many blessings to all of you, and happy Advent!