12/1/2013 - 1st Sunday in Advent – Romans 13:11-14, Matthew 24:37-44

     Today is the 1st Sunday of Advent and the start of our new liturgical year.  In many ways, the meaning of Advent is very different from message we receive from our secular society this time of year.  We’ve just celebrated our bountiful Thanksgiving feast; many started their Xmas shopping on “Black Friday;” many are already putting up their Christmas decorations and listening to Christmas carols. In our secular world, the message is of celebrating, eating, shopping, and putting up joyful decorations.  However, in our Catholic faith, Advent is all about preparation and waiting and getting ready.  As a priest, this upcoming first week of Advent, I am starting off the week having Advent reconciliation services at 3 different parishes, helping the faithful prepare during this Holy season for the coming of our Lord.   

      Perhaps the Gospel we hear today is not what we expect for the 1^st Sunday of Advent.  We don’t hear a story about Mary or Joseph or Elizabeth getting us ready for the coming of Jesus, but instead hear a message from Jesus himself from one of the last chapters in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus tells us how people of Noah’s day were not preparing for what was to come, but, instead they were eating, drinking and having a good time.  Up to the time of Noah and the great flood, most of the people of Israel didn’t realize what was happening. Jesus recalls this event to alert us to stay awake, to be prepared. That is the message we need to hear on this 1^st Sunday of Advent. Paul brings us a similar message from his letter to the Romans.  Paul announces that it is the hour to awaken from sleep, to throw off the works of darkness, and to put on armor of light.  Paul tells us that as baptized Christians, we can’t complacently go through the mere motions of our faith; we must live out our baptismal promises with joy, enthusiasm, and energy.

      We prepare for the Jesus of the past, of the present, and of the future during our Advent preparations.  In Advent, we recognize how Jesus was present to us in the past, how he arrived in the manager in Bethlehem as the Word of God made flesh to dwell among us.  In Advent, we recognize Jesus' presence with us in the present day, how he lives in our hearts and in the Body of Christ still present here on earth.  And in Advent, we place our hope in the future, when Jesus will come again, when the fullness of God’s kingdom will come to fruition.          
       Today, the one word I would use to characterize this first Sunday of Advent is “hope.”  We put our hope is the promise that Jesus gives us in the Gospel today, the promise that he will come again. And while we look forward to our Christmas celebrations to come, to brightly wrapped presents under a Christmas tree, to celebrations with family and friends, to good food and good fellowship, and to time away from work and school, that is not to be our primary focus. We focus on Christ – on his coming into the world as a tiny baby into a humble manager, as he enters our hearts to bring renewal and gladness.  This Monday, we have the Advent Reconciliation service at 6:30 pm here at St James.  This Sacrament is a wonderful way to start our preparations for the Advent season, of turning our hearts to God in this special encounter with him.  There will be 5 priests here to hear your confessions – Father Albeen, Father Anthony, Father Henry, and Father Tim will be joining us here at St James. We would like to have a wonderful showing of children, youth, and adults to kick off our Advent season with this very meaningful sacrament.  In Advent, in our time of thoughtful preparation, we also reach out to others in need, and so in this spirit, we have our Care Tree.  There are items that will help needy families, the elderly at nursing homes, patients at the hospital and their families, and Catholic prisoners.  Take a slip of paper off the Care Tree, and perform an act of charity and mercy as part of your Advent preparations.                                        We wait and hope during Advent.  We do so actively and with purpose, as our hope is in our Lord, our Savior and Redeemer. May this holy time of preparation during the next 4 weeks of Advent help us on our journey of faith. May it challenge us in the ways we live out our faith. May it provide us a time of renewal and recommitment in the faith we profess.