Today is the First Sunday of Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year. As with all New Year celebrations, we begin this Advent with anticipation and hope; we hear about the hope of the Hebrew people for the coming of the Messiah, we believe that their hope is realized in the Incarnation of Christ and we affirm our hope that Christ will come again in glory. For many of us, Advent is a time of preparedness but not in the way our early Christian ancestors envisioned. Some of us see Advent as the four weeks we have to pull everything together for our Christmas celebrations. It is the time for shopping, baking, decorating, partying, sending cards and working ourselves into a total frenzy. It is easy to get so caught up in the hustle and bustle that we lose sight of the sacred significance of this time. Don't worry about the parties, the cards, the presents or Christmas dinner. Rather, focus on what is really important, getting ourselves ready for that time when "the Son of Man will come” (Matt. 24: 44).
All three of our readings today provide us with suggestions about how we should prepare ourselves for the coming of Emmanuel, God with Us right now. In a vision Isaiah sees people streaming to “the mountain of the Lord’s house” so that God can instruct them in His ways and they can “walk in the light of the Lord”! St. Paul reminds the Christians of Rome and us that we are to “throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light,” and that we must “conduct ourselves properly as in the day.” In our Gospel from Matthew 24: 37-44, Jesus, himself, tells us to “stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”
I suggest that we approach Advent this year as a pilgrimage, a sacred journey to open our hearts to the real presence of Jesus Christ in our world; and, to prepare ourselves for the second coming that we affirm each time we participate in the Eucharist. The best way for us to be ready for Jesus Christ when he comes again, is to be ready NOW because Jesus says, “at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” There are several ways you can begin to prepare your hearts here at Holy Trinity. Our Advent Penance Service is next Tuesday, November 29th. Attend our Advent by Candlelight service on Saturday, December 3rd. Our Advent Mission is Saturday, December 17th during the day and our Christmas Concert is Saturday, December 17th at 7:00 PM. Please join us as we begin our Advent pilgrimage of faith.
Father in heaven,
our hearts desire the warmth of your love
and our minds are searching for the light of your Word.
Increase our longing for Christ our Savior
and give us the strength to grow in love,
that the dawn of his coming
may find us rejoicing in his presence
and welcoming the light of his truth.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Amen
