Frist Sunday of Advent.

Today we begin Advent, the first season of the liturgical year. The word Advent means coming, coming of Jesus as a saving event. In fact, the Gospel reading for the first Sunday of Advent begins with a warning. Jesus says:
“Be vigilant so that that day will not come upon you as a surprise.” Evidently, this is in reference to the Second Coming of Jesus. One may wonder why we talk about the Final Day on the very first day of the year. It is not by accident. It is important that we must be aware of our destination before we begin our journey. Jesus came into history not to keep us here on earth but to prepare us to stand before the Lord holy and undefiled and lead us to eternal life. Thus incarnation is complete with the Second Coming of Jesus where He presents us to the Father.

Whether Advent is all about Jesus’ first coming in the history or His second coming at the end of time what is important for us is his coming in our life. During this Advent, therefore, our challenge is how do we make the coming of Jesus a reality in our life. Definitely there are numerous ways. I would like to mention three of them.

1. Keep the Focus on the Reason for Celebration

There is this story. One day a few ladies came to a restaurant. They were in a very happy- go- lucky mood. Out of curiosity the manager asked them. “Why are you here, today? What is special?” “Oh. Today is the birthday of my only child. We are here to celebrate it,” one of the ladies said. “Where is the child? I would like to greet him,” he said. “We did not bring him. He is at home.” she said. “Do you think he would have allowed us to enjoy this food if we brought him with us? He would be a real disturbance,” she added. A birthday celebration with out the birthday baby being present! The focus of the celebration was shifted from the center to the periphery. Advent is a holiday season for many. Naturally people are busy with buying and sending gifts, organizing parties and so forth. All these are important. They are part of the celebration and life is meant to be a celebration. But, the Gospel reading on this very first day of Advent begins with a warning; Jesus says, “Be vigilant and Stay awake.” If we are not vigilant, there is a danger of missing the REASON for our celebration. The reason for this season is Jesus: the Birth of Jesus and the second coming of Jesus. If we are not attentive to the coming of Jesus, his coming becomes a non -starter in our lives.

2. Open to change

The good news of Jesus’ First coming was that He chose a human body as his dwelling place. By assuming a human form He restored human dignity. The human body became the temple of God. The incarnation of Jesus must take place in every human person. The Divine must penetrate into every cell of our lives. Therefore, it is not enough to focus on his coming alone, but we need to prepare our lives to welcome him. We need to allow him to enter into our lives and transform us. Our challenge during Advent is like clay in the hands of a potter. We need to place ourselves in the hands of God and allow him to shape and reshape our image until he forms a pot of his liking. St. Erenaus said this: As long as the clay is wet, moist and supple, the shaping is painless; but on the other hand, if the clay is hardened and reactive, it can break under the influence of the Potter. In Adam, the clay became brittle and hardened, so the shaping became painful and even impossible. What kind of clay are you? We can make the clay of our life moist and supple by doing a number of things: By reading the bible every day during these 25 days; attending Mass on weekdays; preparing for a good confession; attending the bible studies and so forth. Therefore, one needs to ask: What is it that I need to stop doing and what is that I need to start doing during this Advent?

3. Meet Jesus in the ‘Neighbor’

The incarnation of Jesus made every human person another meeting place of God. The uniqueness of Christianity is that we can relate to God only through our neighbors. In the story of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite tried to reach the temple by avoiding the victim on the road. Not they, but the Samaritan who stopped on the way to meet the victim caught the attention of God. Where do I find Jesus? Remember, Jesus was born in a manger, not in a palace or any other place of luxury. Jesus is there where people are struggling to celebrate their life with human dignity…Jesus is there where there is a person in need. During this season, let us try to be generous to people who are in need. Thus let us make this Holiday season a Holy season