Homily: 1st Sunday of Advent – Cycle A
Friends,
we have once again entered the time of Advent: the beginning of a new
liturgical year—a new year of grace—and an opportunity to renew our
discipleship and to grow as missionary disciples. This change in season can, perhaps, lead us
to believe that it is not connected to what came before it, but we would be
wrong to think so. One week ago, we
celebrated Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, and that celebration
leads directly to the beginning of Advent, in which we look with eager hope for
the triumphant return of Christ the King at the end of time. Therefore, we boldly acclaim Christ as our
King and pray that he will return soon to bring forth the fullness of his
kingdom. As we do, these first days of
Advent invite us to examine ourselves so as to make ourselves ready for his
coming.
As
we examine not only ourselves, but also the state of the Church, we may begin
to despair about our readiness for Christ’s coming. The number of parishioners in our parishes is
dwindling and we can see the number of baptized persons who are turning away
from God and the practice of the faith, even in our own families. These persons are not only turning away from
God, but are also turning toward something.
The world and our modern culture of materialism offer comfort and a
sense of security that numbs our sense that there is something—some One—greater
than this world for which we were made and so they no longer pursue it.
Before
our despair spirals out of control, however, let me say that this is nothing
new in human history. The prophet
Isaiah, from whom we heard in the first reading, was a prophet during the
Babylonian Exile. The Exile lasted
nearly fifty years, from around 586 BC to 539 BC. The Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and
destroyed the Temple around 586 BC. They
forced the Israelites out of their homeland to live in the pagan cities of the
Babylonian empire. As these exiles
settled, they began to be lured by the prosperity of the Babylonian
cities. In the first years of the exile,
the Israelites maintained a strong desire to return to Jerusalem and rebuild
the temple. As the years continued, however,
the comfort and sense of security provided by the prosperous Babylonian cities
began to numb the Israelites’ sense that they were called to return to
Jerusalem and to restore right worship of God in the Temple. For those striving to remain faithful and to
live in hopeful expectation of the coming of a savior, the sight of their
kinsmen being lured away from this hope must have caused great despair.
Thus,
God inspired this great prophecy of hope in Isaiah: “In days to come, the
mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and
raised above the hills.” Back then, the
cities that were most prominent and prosperous were built on the highest point
so that all around could look up to them and aspire to their heights. By proclaiming that Mount Zion (the hill on
which the Temple in Jerusalem had been built) would be “established as the
highest mountain”, Isaiah is saying to the Israelites, “The comfort and
security you enjoy in Babylon and its cities will be far-surpassed by Jerusalem
when God re-establishes his city on Mount Zion and his Temple in it.” To those who had been lulled into complacency
by the comfort and security of the pagan cities, Isaiah’s prophecy was a call
to wake up. To those who had begun to
despair of ever returning to Jerusalem and rebuilding the Temple, Isaiah’s
prophecy was a word of great hope.
Thus,
these words are given to us again today: to awaken the numb hearts of those who
have been lured by the comfort and security of this world and to restore hope
to those who have given into despair that God’s Church may be lost among
us. The prophecy of Isaiah is the seed
of the message of Advent for us: Christ the King has established his mountain
as the highest mountain when he died on the hill of Calvary. All nations have streamed towards it, both
physically and spiritually, finding in his death and resurrection the ultimate
victory over sin and death and instruction so that they may walk in his paths
and build his kingdom of peace. As the
prophecy of Isaiah ends with a call to action, so too does Advent call us to
action: “O Church of God, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!”
“Walk
in the light of the Lord” is the preparation to which our other readings call
us. In his letter to the Romans, which
we heard in our second reading, Saint Paul declares our Advent message. He says, “[I]t is the hour now for you to
wake from sleep”. This is a call to
those who have been numbed by the comfort and security of the world. He continues with what is our Advent call to
action: “Let us… throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;
let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day…” For those who have given into despair that
God’s Church may be lost among us, Saint Paul declares: “For our salvation is
nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at
hand.”
All
of these convey the sense of urgency with which our Lord Jesus instructed his
first disciples. He warned them not to
get lulled into a sense of complacency in the world, like the people living in
the days of Noah. Noah spent a very long
time building the ark and those who observed him refused to believe his
prophecy of the coming of the flood.
Thus, when the flood came, they were unprepared. Noah and his family were safe in the
ark. The rest were drowned in the
flood. Although the rainbow is the sign
of God’s promise never to destroy the world by flood again, Jesus instructs his
disciples to be prepared for the “flood of judgment” that will come just as
suddenly to those who are unprepared when he returns.
Therefore,
my brothers and sisters, as we revel in the joy of celebrating our great King,
Jesus Christ, and as we enter into this great season of expectant hope, let us
commit ourselves to “walk in the light of the Lord” by preparing ourselves—and helping
those around us to prepare—for his Second Coming. We will do this when we dedicate more time to
prayer throughout this season, reflecting on the joy of his First Coming (which
we celebrate at Christmas) and praying for the second to come soon. We will also do this when we examine our
consciences, identifying the sins (that is, the “works of darkness”) that still
cling to us, and committing to confess those sins in the sacrament of
reconciliation and to amend our lives (that is, “to put on the armor of light”). We will help others to prepare when we share
with them the joy of our own preparations, and accompany them in doing the
same.
Friends,
may the increasing lights of our Advent wreaths throughout these weeks be the sign
of our increasing preparation for Christ’s coming. May our worship here at this altar be our
sign of thanksgiving that he has already come.
May our lives give witness to the truth that our King is coming again in
glory so that all God’s holy ones may be drawn back to his Church and so be
united to him in the glorious splendor of his kingdom.
Given in Spanish at Saint Paul Parish: Marion, IN –
November 26th, 2022
Given in Spanish at Saint Joseph Parish: Delphi, IN and Our
Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish: Carmel, IN – November 27th, 2022
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