1st Sunday of Advent - C 2024

I confess that I struggle with the vice of impatience.  I do not like to wait.  But over the years I have realized that some forms of waiting are worse than others.  When I was in school, I hated waiting for a test.  This kind of waiting was distinguished by a gloomy feeling of dread and anxiety.  However, when I am expecting a friend for a visit, there is a kind of joy in the waiting.  It is not marked with anxiety and dread but an excitement and lightness.  Not all waiting is bad.

Today we begin the Season of Advent which is a season of waiting.  We wait to celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus.  People are typically very busy in the first few weeks of December as they rush to finish all of their Christmas shopping and plan for the holidays.  Preparation is another defining quality of Advent.  Waiting and preparation.  This is what Advent is about.

But we must be reminded that this waiting and preparation consists of more than buying presents and writing Christmas cards.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming” (CCC, 524).  All of Israel was waiting for their Savior, their Messiah.  They were waiting for a descendent of King David who would be born of a virgin in Bethlehem.  Beaten and trampled on by other nations, the Israelites could not wait for their prophesied savior to manifest himself.  This disposition of waiting which the Israelites had is the kind of disposition the Church invites us to cultivate during the Season of Advent.  The Savior has already come, but He will come again.  And that is what we are to wait and get ready for.  Christ has come and Christ will come again.  Will we be ready?

And upon examining our hearts, maybe we will find that we don’t want Jesus to come back.  We don’t mind if He takes His time or takes a few detours on the way.  I don’t blame you.  After all, the Gospel passage read today is quite disturbing.  Jesus says that people will die of fright when He comes back and judges the world.  Nations will be distressed and dismayed.  But I propose that we don’t have to feel that way about the second coming of Christ.  He repeatedly tells us “do not be afraid” (cf. Lk 12:7; Lk 12:32; Jn 6:20; etc.).

To have peace about the second coming of Jesus requires vigilance.  Jesus says to stay awake and be ready for His second coming.  And if we are vigilant and watchful, then there is no need for fear.  This is what the season of Advent is for.  It is a time of heightened preparation, heightened vigilance in which we take extra care to prepare for the second coming of Jesus.

And so I encourage everyone to make the best of this Advent season in preparing for the coming of Jesus.  If you need mercy and forgiveness, make use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  There will be multiple penance services held in Menominee County before Christmas.  You can find their dates and times in the bulletin.  If you want to hear the voice of Jesus more clearly, slow down and cultivate a habit of silent prayer.  If you find that you are excessively preoccupied and anxious about your daily life, set some time aside in prayer to meditate and think about the things of Heaven.