BIBLE STUDY #21

FIRST SUNDAY OF DVENT

NOVEMBER 28, 2010

Gospel       Matthew 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.”

The Gospel of the Lord

FIRST READING       Isaiah 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!

The Word of the Lord

SECOND READING     Romans 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.

The Word of the Lord

Reflection

This celebration of the First Sunday of Advent marks a new liturgical year. We cease using Luke’s Gospel and we use Matthew’s Gospel for our Sunday readings (the Gospel of John is interspersed throughout the year since John’s Gospel does not have its own liturgical year). If you follow along with the weekday readings, we are in Year 1 of the 2 year cycle.

According to the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar, #39, “Advent has a two-fold character: as a season to prepare for Christmas when Christ’s first coming to us is remembered and as a season when that remembrance directs our mind and heart to await Christ’s second coming at the end of time. Advent thus is a period of devout and joyful expectation.”

This first week of Advent thus directs our attention to Jesus second coming. The prayer the priest says after the Our Father ends with: “as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ.” We should not only be hopeful, but happy.

As we await the second coming, the Gospel tells us that it will come upon us suddenly. Jesus gives three examples concerning this suddenness: 1) it will come upon us as suddenly as the flood did to the unsuspecting people in Noah’s day; 2) people were carrying on with their lives (in the field, grinding at the mill): those who were prepared were taken (saved), and those who were not were left behind; and 3) if the master knew when the thief was coming, he would be prepared so his house would not be broken into.

Jesus tells us to be prepared because we don’t know the day nor the hour. What does it mean to be prepared? The first reading tells us about the importance of spiritual nourishment. We need to take Gods word seriously and incorporate it into our lives to nourish us along our way. We need to keep returning to God’s word to draw strength and courage for our journey. As Catholics, we need to draw strength and nourishment from sacraments, especially mass and confession. We also need daily prayer, that everyday contact with God, to build up that relationship with God so we can be the bearers of God’s light to others. One mission we get from being part of God’s family is to engender peace. Isaiah calls it to “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.”

St. Paul also tells us to be prepared. He says to “awake from sleep.” How many people are sleep walking though life, with no concern for the spiritual life or for eternal life, but only concern for the day to day earthly events we encounter every day? He tells us that if we are to be prepared, we must act like we are disciples and give up our sinful ways; we must “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.”

As we prepare, as we awake from sleep, how does Jesus come to us? In three ways: 1) at the end of time. We will meet the Lord at the end of time, at which we will make an accounting of our life. I don’t find that to be a great motivator towards staying awake and being prepared since it has been 2,000 years since Jesus rose to heaven, and who knows how long it will be until he comes back? 2) At our death when we will need to account for our actions: who knows when that will be? It certainly would be a motivator if you felt you were near death because of age and/or illness, but it’s not a great motivator for most people; 3) The Lord is trying to enter our hearts every day in a myriad of ways: sacraments, scripture, prayer, other people to name just a few. If we open our hearts, his grace and peace will flood our being and we will be better able to live as disciples.

When we talk about preparing for Christmas, we look forward so as to look back. Being hopeful of resurrection makes us joyful to remember what Christ has done for us, beginning with the incarnation. Christmas takes on a whole new meaning if the peace and joy of the risen Lord is with us as we celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus. One of the best ways I know to be prepared is to be Christ for other people and to see Christ in other people. If we are prepared, nothing else matters, does it? It doesn’t matter when Christ comes and it doesn’t matter when we die because we will be ready.

Living with Christ in our hearts outs a new perspective on the month of December. In the midst of all the busyness, can we remember the reason for the season? Can we spend a little more time in prayer? Can we slow down, even if only for a moment, to let Christ into our lives? When you are wrapping a gift, can you say a prayer for the person receiving that gift (and yourself)? Let’s not be overwhelmed by busyness, but by Christ’s love.

When I was in Israel last week, our Israeli tour guide asked us “When is the Messiah coming?” Most people said that only God the Father knows. Some wise guy (could it be me?) said, “He already came.” But our guide said, “The Messiah is coming today. Live like that statement is true.” Wow, I thought, what a powerful way to live! How would we change our lives if the Messiah was to come today?

Fr. Phil