By Francis Gonsalves, SJ –
First Sunday of Advent – Cycle C – 2 December 2018
Readings: Jer 33:14-16; 1 Thess 3:12 – 4:2; Lk 21:25-28,34-36
“Watch at all times, praying” (Lk)
Three Scriptural Signposts:
1. Jeremiah, the youthful prophet—called to prophesy at the early age of 22 years—predicted that the dynasty of King David would be restored after the fall of Jerusalem and after the people were taken captive to Babylon in 586 B.C. Without doubt, the Babylonian Exile had made the Israelites lose hope, abandon their religion and adopt the religion of surrounding nations. However, in the midst of this sense of hopelessness and pessimism, Jeremiah reminds his people that God will still be faithful to the divine promises although they have been unfaithful to God. He exhorts them not to lose hope; for, “Behold, the days are coming … when I [God] will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel ….”
2. The promises made in the first reading obviously find their fulfillment in the coming of the true King and Messiah born of the Davidic lineage: The Son of God, Jesus. The last line of the first reading, “He will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness’,” refers to God’s saving acts, concretely seen in Christian faith as the coming of Jesus Christ. Now, as Christians, we know that God’s Son has, indeed, come. What the Jews of old looked forward to expectantly, we see as already fulfilled in human history. Nonetheless, the watching and waiting of this period of Advent is not only a commemoration of Jesus’ first coming in the manger at Bethlehem, but also of his ‘Second Coming’ in majesty and might at the end of history, the exact time of which we do not know but must be prepared for.
3. During this liturgical Year C, we will mainly be reading and reflecting upon passages from the gospel according to St Luke—that portrays Jesus as a compassionate saviour. Jesus cautions his disciples about what we commonly call the “signs of the times”. The apocalyptic or ‘end-time language’ used in the passage—namely, “signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth … roaring of the seas and the waves …. people will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world” and so on—are not intended to create paralysis and fear, but to inspire us to be watchful and prayerful. Jesus exhorts us to “watch at all times, praying that you may have strength.” And, to those of you who are watchful and prayerful, Jesus says, “Stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Truly, blessed are those who wait patiently, prayerfully!
Possible Link in the 2nd Reading:
The second reading begins with Paul’s thanksgiving and blessing for the Thessalonian Christians. Paul prays that they: “May be blameless when our Lord Jesus comes.” Paul expected Christ’s ‘second coming’ to be imminent. Thus, he exhorted the believers to “make more and more progress” in holiness, in their spiritual life, and in their communitarian and societal endeavours. In other words, the coming of Christ needs preparation and progress in prayer.
Three Texts from Catholic Tradition:
1. Maximus of Turin (circa. 380 – 423) – “Dear brethren, may we who await the birth of the Lord cleanse ourselves of all the remnants of sin! Let us fill his treasuries with many gifts, so that upon the arrival of that holy day we may welcome the strangers, support the widows, and clothe the poor!” … In his Homily 60:3-4.
2. St. Pope John Paul II: “Advent invites us to rejoice, and at the same time, it exhorts us to wait with patience for the coming of the Lord now approaching. It exhorts us not to be discouraged, to resist every kind of adversity, with the certainty that the Lord will not delay his coming…. This vigilant patience favors the strengthening of human ties in the Christian community. The faithful realize that they are little ones who are poor and in great need of God’s help, and they come together to receive the Messiah who is about to come. He will come in the silence, the humility, the poverty of the crib, and will bring his joy to all who welcome him with open hearts.”
3. Pope Francis: “The time of Advent that we begin returns us to the horizon of hope, a hope that does not disappoint because it is founded on the Word of God. A hope that does not disappoint, simply because the Lord never disappoints! He is faithful! … The time of Advent that the Church celebrates in preparation for Christmas is a new journey of the People of God with Jesus Christ, our Shepherd, who guides us in history towards the completion of the Kingdom of God…. Let us rediscover the beauty of being together along the way: The Church, with her vocation and mission, and the whole of humanity, the people, the civilizations, the cultures, all together on the paths of time.”
A Couple of Current Concerns:
1. Cyclone Gaja of November 16 and other cataclysmic events (like the recent floods in Kerala, too) sometimes make us think that the end-times are, really, very, very near. It is simplistic to equate storms, cyclones, earthquakes and tsunamis with the wrath of God or God’s punishment because the ones who usually suffer irreparable damage are the poor who do not have resources to repair their damaged belongings and lives. Rather, could this be an opportunity for all of us to reach out to victims of all tragedies? How do I respond?
2. Acchhe Din (good days) promised by our politicians never seem to come! This kind of waiting—based on false, fictitious promises—must make us wary of empty promises and ought to prepare us to be socially, politically, religiously and, above all, spiritually preparing to usher in acchhe din for all, beginning with those most in need.
Reflection: Jesus wants his disciples “to watch at all times” and “to pray”. It seems easier to watch, but how does one pray at all times? Certainly, Jesus does not mean that we must be ‘saying prayers’ all the time. But he does mean that the ‘pray-er’ must be deeply united with God, always, and the prayer, totally attuned to God’s will. This entails a ‘watching outward’ and a ‘waiting inward’ for the God who “comes, comes, ever comes” to quote Rabindranath Tagore.
In Lighter Vein: A drunkard was staggering down the street with blisters on both his ears. “What caused those blisters on your ears?” asked a friend. “My wife left her hot iron near the phone; so, when the phone rang, I picked up the iron by mistake,” explained the drunkard. “Okay, but what about the other ear?” continued the friend. “That fool phoned a second time!”
Sin and self indulgence often cause stupors that deter us from detecting the harm we do to ourselves and others. May Advent, therefore, find us watchful and waiting for Christ!
Fr. Francis Gonsalves is a Gujarat Jesuit, former Principal of Vidyajyoti College, Delhi, and currently Dean of Theology at Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune. He is also the Executive Secretary of the CCBI Commission for Theology and Doctrine. He has authored many books and articles and is a columnist with The Asian Age and The Deccan Chronicle national dailies.