BIBLE STUDY #116


FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

December 2, 2012



READING 1

JEREMIAH 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."



The Word of the Lord



READING 2

1 THESSALONIANS 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.



The Word of the Lord



GOSPEL

LUKE 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."



The Gospel of the Lord



Reflection



What is a ‘sign’? A sign is something that points to a greater reality. The sign itself is not important as to what it signifies. An example would be the American Flag. We hold our flag dear to our hearts for what it signifies: freedom and our way of life. Our founding fathers could have picked any arrangement of colors and symbols for our flag, and it would mean the same to us. When someone burns our flag, it is more than the desecration of a symbol, but an attack on our very way of life. The flag burners are saying that they want to destroy us. That’s why a flag burning bothers us so much.



Today’s Gospel has a sign: the universe will be in dismay, “People will die of fright and… the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” This is not just a prediction of a natural disaster such as earthquakes and famines, or the fall of a city, or even wars and revolutions, but is cosmic in nature. The signs will come in “the sun, the moon, and the stars.” Luke talks about the shaking of heavenly powers.



Notice that there is not a timetable for these coming events. The lesson of the fig tree in Mark 13 is eliminated as is any other reference to the timing of these events. The time of final judgment is left undetermined and unattached to any specific events. It will come, but who knows when. They are coming to grips with the delay in the Second Coming.



What is the greater reality of this sign? When all of these things happen, the people will see, “the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”



These events are not to frighten us because we are people of faith, believing in the Second Coming of Jesus. “But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” These cosmic events point to our liberation from sin and death. They are the sign of our deliverance. That’s why it bothers us when people trash our religion, especially our signs and symbols: they are trashing us and the very core of our beliefs.



Therefore, it is not Rome or any power in our day that will precipitate the end. The future is God’s prerogative, ushered in by the Son of Man, Jesus, appearing in power and glory.



What are we to do in the meantime? Luke does not advocate a wait and see attitude, scanning the horizon waiting for these signs. We are to be prayerful and vigilant. If not, we can get lost in the daily cares and woes of our lives and not be attentive to our spiritual needs, and Jesus coming will surprise us and we will not be ready. Since there is no escape from these events, we must be vigilant and prayerful so we will be ready to stand before Jesus and make an account of ourselves.



To me, the Season of Advent is threefold in nature: it deals with the past, the present, and the future. In Advent, we begin to anticipate the birth of Jesus some 2,000 years ago, that great event of God breaking into human life, one of the pivotal points in our salvation history. We give thanks to God for sending his Son so that we may have eternal life. We also anticipate the future, when Jesus will come again in glory, and also the time when our life here on earth is ended and we go to meet the Lord. We are reminded that we are to be vigilant and prayerful to be ready to meet him when our life ends. Thirdly, we are reminded that Jesus wants to be born in our hearts everyday, if we let him. There is no need to wait to live in the Kingdom; it is here for us now. If we live in the Kingdom on earth, we should welcome the Kingdom of Heaven.



In the first reading from Jeremiah, the kings of Israel in Jeremiah’s time (and afterwards) were not very good kings. Jeremiah reminds the people that God promised “a just shoot,” a descendant of David who would do what is just and right. “Just shoot” or “righteous branch” have become classical titles for messiah, or anointed one. Jesus is that just shoot who leads God’s people in a right and just way.





Fr. Phil