Deacon Tom Anthony

First Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 3

Reading 1 Jer 33:14-16

The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will fulfill the promise
I made to the house of Israel and Judah.
In those days, in that time,
I will raise up for David a just shoot ;
he shall do what is right and just in the land.
In those days Judah shall be safe
and Jerusalem shall dwell secure;
this is what they shall call her:
“The LORD our justice.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14

R. (1b) To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
and for you I wait all the day.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Reading 2 1 Thes 3:12—4:2

Brothers and sisters:
May the Lord make you increase and abound in love
for one another and for all,
just as we have for you,
so as to strengthen your hearts,
to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.

Finally, brothers and sisters,
we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that,
as you received from us
how you should conduct yourselves to please God
and as you are conducting yourselves
you do so even more.
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

Alleluia Ps 85:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Show us, Lord, your love;
and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples:
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man.”

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 As Christians, hope is a word that is very important to us. We are reminded by the Apostle Paul in his Letter to the Corinthians that in the end there is faith, hope, and love. These three things should be our focus and be central in our lives. If indeed this is true, then it should also be appropriate that we know what they mean. Hope is often misunderstood and is also used very freely, undermining its importance. This situation then becomes an impediment to our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Hope is defined as:

“A feeling of expectation and a desire for a certain thing to happen.”

With hope there is a confidence that whatever is expected to happen will indeed happen. That expectation is coupled with a desire for that same thing. We as Christians know that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will come again in glory and that we will be joined with Him in an existence far beyond what we could ever imagine. While living out our earthy existence there will always be doubt and we might find ourselves questioning this but that is where we are challenged to explore these situations through a life coupled with a faith which brings us closer to Jesus. The closer we are to Jesus, the more these doubts will be dispelled. Our relationship to Jesus Christ needs to be our most important relationship and the one that we spend the most time on.

In the Gospel Reading today, Jesus describes what events will happen which will indicate that his Second Coming is imminent. He then tells His disciples that these same events should be something that they shouldn’t worry about because it means that their redemption is at hand. As Christians, this is also true for us. Whatever is to happen is of no concern to us for they will only lead to wonderful and beautiful things unimaginable in comparison to what we have or will experience. These events were only described so as to inform us as to what was to occur and not as a warning about them. The only warning is regarding our daily conduct and a reminder that our conduct should reflect our relationship with Jesus and our commitment to our faith: our actions and our conduct should be an indicator what we profess in our faith and our relationship with Jesus.

We need to be aware of what the future holds for us as Children of God but keep our priorities in the present. The present is where we experience a life with Jesus Christ. We have been given an opportunity to enjoy His creation and to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. He is here with us this very moment and through our reactions to His presence His kingdom is realized. As more individuals become partakers in what He wants for all of us then what is experienced becomes a continuous celebratory event which will then lead to perfection: a new Heaven and a new Earth. He will then be revealed completely.

What we have in the description of the negative that Jesus gave is that which will affect those who reject Him completely. We as Christians need not focus on this, for nothing negative comes from God. It is the positive and the complete love that He has for us that should be the guiding factor in our lives. We are loved with no preconditions. Our condition will never be worthy of the love He has for us but that is the point:

We were created out of love to love and to experience the exchange of that same love. Our hope in what is to come should be influenced by this love.

Deacon Tom