The readings for the First Sunday of Advent - Year A may be found at:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/113025.cfm
Today the Church begins Advent
and a new liturgical year,
Year A of the three year cycle.
So, Happy New Year!
New Years
are filled with so much hope aren’t they?
We all love the fresh start, the new opportunities,
the new beginnings that come with a new year.
The endless possibilities in front of us.
The chance to make it different from the last.
To make it different. To make it better.
So much hope. So much anticipation.
Yet at the beginning of this one, the evangelist St. Matthew
begins with a call that is both simple,
yet, worrisome at the same time.
Be prepared.
Because, to paraphrase,
Jesus is coming back,
we do not know when,
and we had better be ready when He does.
Today, we hear Jesus speak the words
“at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
And depending on where each of us are
in our spiritual journey,
that might sound exciting and hopeful
or worrisome and downright scary.
He tells us to be prepared.
I don’t know about you, but I usually think of being prepared
in terms of countdowns, deadlines,
of things I need to do, just in case.
But Jesus is talking about something much deeper.
He’s not talking about something that might happen.
He’s talking about something that will happen.
And He doesn’t want us living in fear; He wants us living awake.
We do so many things in our lives to avoid being awake.
Constantly hitting the spiritual snooze button.
Just think of the people in Noah’s time.
Jesus says they were eating, drinking, marrying -
doing ordinary things, nothing sinful.
Yet, the great flood came anyway and washed them all away.
Their mistake - wasn’t in living ordinary life;
it was living without awareness, without God at the center.
They were spiritually asleep.
And when the moment came,
the one they thought would never arrive,
the rain came, the waters rose, and they weren’t ready for it.
Advent,
is supposed to be the antidote to that kind of sleepiness.
The Church gives us
these four weeks not just to prepare for Christmas,
but to awaken our hearts to the coming of Jesus -
His coming in history, His coming at the end of time,
and His coming right now,
in the quiet, hidden moments of our daily lives.
Being prepared - means to be attentive.
Because the world shouts, but God whispers.
He speaks in small ways.
A tug on the heart during prayer.
A moment of conscience.
A person who needs our time or patience.
These are not interruptions -
they are opportunities to be awake.
This is Advent.
Being prepared - means being willing to change.
A time to return to prayer.
A time to choose forgiveness.
A time to make room for silence.
A time to return to the sacrament of Confession.
Small changes - that prepare our hearts more than we realize.
Being prepared - means living with hope.
Christ’s coming is not a threat - it is a promise.
God is not trying to catch us off guard.
He wants us ready, so that His coming brings joy, not fear.
Advent is meant to show us
that God’s surprises are always for our good.
If we are awake enough to recognize them when they come.
Being prepared,
Being ready, is remembering that Jesus already comes to us
Here and now.
He comes in the Eucharist.
He comes in Sacred Scripture.
He comes in the Sacraments.
He comes in the poor, the lonely,
the person right in front of us.
And if we learn to meet Him in these places,
we will not be unprepared when He comes again in glory.
So today,
as we light the first Advent candle,the candle of hope,
we ask God for the grace to wake us up.
To pay attention.
To return to Him with renewed desire.
This Advent, Let us prepare
not by adding more to our schedules,
but by opening more space in our hearts,
for Him and for everyone He loves -
and that’s everyone by the way.
And if we do that,
then whenever the Lord comes,be it tonight,
tomorrow, or at the end of all things,
He will find us awake,
prepared,
ready,
waiting,
joyful
And saying,
Show us Lord, your love,
and grant us your salvation.
