Deacon Tom Anthony

First Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 1

Reading 1 Is 2:1-5

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come,
the mountain of the LORD’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Responsorial Psalm Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Because of my brothers and friends
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Reading 2 Rom 13:11-14

Brothers and sisters:
You know the time;
it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.
For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed;
the night is advanced, the day is at hand.
Let us then throw off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light;
let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day,
not in orgies and drunkenness,
not in promiscuity and lust,
not in rivalry and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

Alleluia Cf. Ps 85:8

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

Gospel Mt 24:37-44

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

Whatever situations that we find ourselves in the present time we need to constantly remind ourselves that Jesus Christ is with us. Because of this, the present is intertwined with the future in a beautiful way. There is the knowledge that nothing is impossible as  long as we acknowledge and react to His presence while there is the Hope that in the future we will remain with Him for eternity. This Hope is not one that is measured against doubts that might be present but it is actually purer form. We as Christians should enforce ourselves with the knowledge constantly available to us that will lead us to the obvious conclusion that Christ will indeed come again. There should be a desire that this will happen sooner than later. The events that Jesus Christ speaks about, signs of the Second Coming, are ones that should be acknowledged with expectation and joy.

We are participators in a very special relationship with Jesus Christ. Spirituality, He is here and throughout Creation making His presence known daily. We can feel Him, touch Him, and witness His glorious work if only we take the time to do so. The entire universe is moving towards an ultimate end and we are all part of that journey. At the end is the full power and presence of Jesus Christ. Now we can be considered a partial recipient of Jesus Christ because we are in control of when and how we receive Him. This will change when Jesus reveals Himself completely. On that day, be it while we live in the physical sense or when we have died, we will then be with Jesus completely. All these experiences should be viewed as passages to be traveled and looked forward to with expectation. It is Hope with understanding and knowledge.

There is wonderment in this world. There are experiences to be lived and times to be celebrated. Yet, if we do not invite Jesus Christ to share in these experiences then the full meaning of them will be lost. Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Teaching of the Church offer a path to a wonderful experience that goes beyond the sense and what society can offer. There is purpose, meaning, and love. We are invited to climb the mountain to the Lord and, in return, He will give us what we are instinctively searching for. The higher we climb the more the reward there will be. When we come closer to Jesus, the more we can feel His presence.

We endanger ourselves when we lose sight of the mountain and the climb. We become distracted with the trivial matters of the flesh and forget to celebrate the spirit which is our soul. It needs nourishment to grow stronger while the physical demands nourishment for purely diabolical reasons. The physical gives nothing back in return except for instant gratification and things that will not last forever. The soul is who we are and it is naturally drawn to its Creator. When we participate more fully in this relationship only good things can abound. 

Each day can bring us closer to Jesus Christ. If we are possessors of this special kind of Hope then we must act like we are. This special knowledge and understanding demands that we conduct ourselves the way Jesus expects us to. The more we do this then the stronger our spirituality becomes and the closer we get to Jesus Christ. The things offered in this world are nothing in comparison to everything that Jesus Christ offers. Shouldn’t we live our lives with that Hope for the things if we know this to be true?

Deacon Tom

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