Homily of 1st Sunday of Advent Year 2022 by Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe, C.S.Sp.
Readings: Jer.2: 1-5, Ps.122, Romans 13:11-14 & Matthew 24:37-44
A new circle of the Liturgical year begins today with the First Sunday of Advent. It is interesting that the church’s calendar year always begins with this season which in itself is a period of expectation. The word “advent”, as we know it, is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,” which is a translation of the Greek word parousia. In the Christian church calendar, it is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas and also of preparation for the Second Coming of Christ. Advent season, therefore, traditionally precedes Christmas and offers us the opportunity to prepare for the celebration of the coming of Jesus, born in a manger many years ago. This first coming was preceded by so many prophecies about the day of the Lord. It would be a time of liberation for the Jews and all who were suffering and the enthronement of God’s righteousness over all the nations. Those promises kept the Jews longing for the coming of the Messiah.
When Jesus came, he taught us about the kingdom of God and ended up giving his life for it on the cross of Calvary. His resurrection that followed began a new order. Upon his Ascension into heaven, Jesus promised that he will return. But this time, he will not be coming to teach us about the kingdom of God nor to give his life on the cross. Rather, it will be a period of judgment when the righteous will be rewarded and the sinner receives the just wage for their actions. The question of the second coming of Jesus occupied the early Christians so much that they thought that Jesus will be coming within their lifetime. Some people in Thessalonica, for instance, stopped working and waited for the coming of Jesus. Although Jesus comes to us every day in different ways through his word in the scripture, the sacrament, our relationship with people and so many other ways, the emphasis on his final coming in glory is what is meant with the term – the day of the Lord.
The day of the Lord is something uncertain. Isaiah writes about it as a day when all the nations will stream to the mountain of the Lord; a day when there will be no more wars; a day of everlasting peace (Isaiah 1:1-5). But while it will be a day of jubilation for the virtuous, it will also be a day when the vicious will tremble in fear. “Behold the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it” (Isaiah 13:9-13; Joel 2:1-2; Amos 5:18-20; Zephaniah 1:14-18).
What makes the day of the Lord more interesting is that no one knows when it will be, like a thief in the night. Jesus emphasized this point in the Gospel reading. It will be like in the days of Noah. People were busy going about their businesses, eating, drinking, marrying, and doing whatever they wanted until Noah got into the boat and the flood came upon them. The point here is that the building of the boat took a whole lot of time and processes. Stepping into the boat was only the end of this long process. The people had sufficient time to reflect on what Noah was doing and repent. But they made other choices, focused on other things, and perished with those material choices they made. In like manner, the whole time of our life is meant for us to reflect and make proper choices that will result in a salvific end when Christ returns. Jesus went on to describe his coming as a day of separation when two people will be together, one will be taken and the other left behind. However frightening it might be to think of the day of the Lord in terms of these analogies, Jesus offered his listeners a solution: be awake, be prepared because if the owner of the house knows when a thief will attack his house, he would not sleep but be awake.
Being awake, prepared, or vigilant is something common in daily life. We are living in a period when so many things happen. The car of my confrere, Fr. John was broken into and nearly driven away before the security system in the car locked up everything. Police said the attempt was to steal it. If not for the security system in the car, it would have been stolen. We are in a season when it gets dark earlier and most houses are broken into, people are attacked and robbed. You only need to follow the “opsporing verzocht” program on television to see how people are robbed in this period of the year. That will tell you the importance of being vigilant, being security conscious, and being more careful.
There are three levels of vigilance that every child of God needs to keep according to their degrees of importance. First is the material vigilance which we have spoken about. The second is vigilance over our lives. God requires us to work and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Ecclesiastes 3:13 reads, “And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.” We sometimes forget that whatever material property we have is meant to serve us by improving our lives and that of those around us, and not vice versa. Sometimes people lose their peace, health, or even their lives for material reasons. There are so many cars, houses, clothes, etc, but you are irreplaceable. If people take pains to watch over their houses, cars and positions, if people spend so much to insure their property, how much more should we watch over ourselves? Don’t be discouraged by the things that are passing away, and do not be carried away by success, this too shall pass. Be grateful for who you are and take care of yourself. The most important moment in life is now, don’t lose the joy of now by worrying and complaining about the past and the future, or about what you have or what you do not have. The best way to deal with the past and the future is to do our best today starting from now. Be calm but vigilant. Focus on the important things. The third and most important is eternal life. Jesus warns in Mark 8:36, “what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” The only thing that lasts forever is our life with God. That is what Jesus wants us to give the greatest attention to, to be vigilant about, and to get prepared for it. The question then is, how do we get prepared for the coming of the Lord?
Paul gives us a clue on how to get prepared for the coming of the Lord. “The night is gone, the day has come,” he wrote. “Let us leave the works of darkness and live like the children of light”. The symbols of light and darkness as opposites are used severally to distinguish right from wrong, virtue from vice, good from bad, and salvation from damnation. The works of darkness are sometimes referred to as the desires of the flesh that is in opposition to the demands of the Spirit (Gal. 5:19-22). Whatever choices we make in this regard determine where we will end up. Choosing to live in the light of Christ’s teaching presupposes that we are getting prepared to welcome him with joy, just as choosing to live in the darkness of sin signals the opposite. “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Paul writes in Romans 6:23. In all instances, the Bible warns that those who fail to live in the light of Christ’s teaching will have to regret when he comes in power and glory, while those who obey his words will go out to meet the Lord rejoicing.
The coming of the Lord is, therefore, something to look forward to with joy for all who live in the light of Jesus’ teaching. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans (Rom. 8:1-2), “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Living in the light of Jesus’ teaching becomes the antidote for fear for the day of the Lord. That ensures that the coming of the Lord does not frighten us nor can it catch us unaware. Instead, it will be something that inspires us to be the face of Jesus to those around us who are oppressed, lonely, suffering, or seeking any form of liberation.
As we prepare for Christmas, let our neighbors see in us enough reason to believe in the Jesus we celebrate. That is the best way to prepare for the day of the Lord because it ensures that we are busy with the project for which Jesus came and gave his life. When he finds us doing this, he will confirm us as living in the light of his teaching and therefore prepared to welcome him.