First Sunday of Advent A2

First Sunday of Advent A2

Today is the First Sunday of Advent which speaks about the coming of our Saviour into this word and specially in our own lives. He comes everyday silently in our lives without prior information. I am reminded of a poem of Gitanjali no 45, written by Rabindra Nath Tagore. Which go like this:-

Have you not heard his silent steps, 

He comes, comes, and ever comes.

Every moment and every age, 

Every day and every night,

He comes, comes, ever comes.

Many a song have I sung, in many a mood of mind,

But all their notes have always proclaimed,

He comes, comes, ever comes.

In the fragrant days of sunny April through the forest path

He comes, comes, ever comes.

In the rainy gloom of July nights on thundering chariot of clouds

He comes, comes, ever comes

In sorrow after sorrow, it is his steps that press upon my heart,

And it is the golden touch of his feet, that makes my joy to shine.

- (Tagore, Gitanjali, 45)

The Lord comes to us in many ways and manners which we do not understand. He made Himself available to us in variety of ways. He comes in our life in beauty; He comes in our life in love, in strength, in goodness, in friendship and in support. He comes in our life in sorrow and in joy.

My dear people, He comes every day  but  we fail to recognize him because we are too busy in our materialistic world. In today’s gospel Jesus encourages his followers to remain alert in the spirit. We need to be awake in faith to recognize and serve Christ in these commonplace and routine encounters since it will do us no good to recognize him on the Last Day if we have not recognized and served him day by day.

Accidents happen when we least expect them. A sensible man would be prepared for the unexpected. He would protect himself with insurance to protect his property; he would save money for a rainy day, would anticipate for a moment of disgrace and would at least be prepared mentally to cope up with any situation or distress. On the other hand, the foolish man never plans the future; he never anticipates for calamities, he takes everything for granted. When evil strikes him, he is caught unaware.

We are living in a time of great calamities, when apocalyptical prophecies are being fulfilled. Do we think we are safe? Do we think we are better off than anyone else and that we may escape the tribulation that has been predicted for everyone? 

we are better off than anyone else and that we may escape the tribulation that has been predicted for everyone?

If we are going away on a trip, we prepare ourselves in many ways. We prepare our luggage, make travel arrangements, prepare our camera, obtain foreign currency, get a passport and obtain visas for the places we will visit, in other words we spare no effort in order to secure a safe and happy holiday.

We know very well that preparation is the secret of success, not only in earthly activities, but also in our spiritual life. And just as we anticipate the weather by movements of the clouds and the winds, we can also understand that we are living in very dangerous times when things may change very quickly from one moment to the next.

We are talking here about our trip from this life into eternity. A whole life is given to us so that we may stop frequently and meditate about it. It is very important for us to be constant and persevere in our spiritual life otherwise when the final moment arrives it will catch us unaware.

I do not want anyone to be lost; this is why I came personally to proclaim my message of salvation to everyone, so that no one would be lost, says the Lord!”

It is never too late to stop and reflect on these spiritual realities that unfortunately get obscured with all the worldly occupations.

The Lord is telling us once more, repent and amend your life, be more aware of your reality as a spiritual being. Remember that the time will come when you will be called to enter into the spiritual realm for eternity and depending on how you lived your life you will either be saved or condemned. It is a very serious situation that needs urgent attention; do not procrastinate. Start doing something about it before it is too late. Be alert, keep praying and watching.

Let us pray, Lord open our eyes in faith to see God present and active in our life and in our world. Open our heart and our house to the Lord who comes to us daily in the form of the needy man or woman. This is the best way to prepare to welcome the Lord when he comes on the Last Day​.

First Sunday of Advent A1

 First Sunday of Advent A1

In our lives we encounter different types of preparation because we are waiting for someone to come or something to happen into our lives. We spend a lot of money and energy for these preparations. For example, preparing a party, a preparation for our own career or for our own wedding and for the birth of a baby. Another one is preparation for moving into another house or for building a new home or for retirement and many more. We are so very excited about these to come.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent as you know, means “coming.” In our gospel today, it speaks about watchfulness and preparation on our part.

There was a story of a certain person, named Nilo. He always dreamed that God is talking to him. One night, in his dream, God spoke to him, saying: “Nilo, I want to meet you personally.”

Nilo was so excited and he asked God: “When will be that time, my Lord?” God answered: “Tomorrow at six o’clock in the evening.” So Nilo got busy preparing everything – food, his house, he bought new dress and so many things. 

At six o’clock in the evening, everything was ready and he was waiting for God to come but He did not show up at that time. At seven o’clock God did not show up again.

At eight o’clock in the evening, a beggar knocked at his door asking for something to eat but he did not give anything. He told the beggar that he is waiting for a very important person and told that he could not entertain him. “Get out of my way!” Nilo shouted at the beggar. So the beggar went away sad and hungry.

At nine o’clock in the evening, a man knocked at his door again asking for help because his son got sick. But Nilo said: “I don’t have money, I spent all my money in preparation of meeting a very important person, my God who is coming today and I am waiting to meet Him. So the man went home without getting anything. 

Nilo waited till ten o’clock at night for God's coming but he did not come and finally he went to sleep. God talked to him in his dream. Nilo was angry and he said to God: “My Lord, why did you not come, I was waiting for you. I prepared everything for you. I did not see even you shadow.

God answered: I did come. I fulfilled my promise. Do you remember the beggar knocking at your door? It was me. Do you remember the man asking you for help? It was me again but you sent me away. You do not recognize me. You don’t like me.”

My dear friends, what are we waiting for? What are we preparing for? What are we looking for? Are we looking for a miracle? If we are waiting for Christ to be born, Christ was already born two thousand years ago. He is our Saviour and our brother too. If we are waiting for the Holy Spirit to dwell among us, He is already in us but we do not recognize His presence and role in our lives. If we are waiting for the Church to be born, the Church is already in our midst. If we are waiting for the faith, God gives everything to us. What are we waiting for? Every Sunday, we attend Mass, we pray and have our novena. We receive the body of Christ and Christ becomes a part of us. But after the Mass, we return to our old habits. What God is looking from us is a changed way of life, a new direction and a renewed life. A life by which we can see the face of Christ in other people especially the lowly. As Christ said: “What you do to the least of brothers you it unto me.” This changed way of life should not only be now, but it should be Now And Forever. 

To conclude my short reflection, I would like to share with you a story. It is about a Master asking a question to his disciples. He said: “How can we determine that another day will come?” His disciples answered: “Because tonight is evening, so tomorrow is the sign that another day will come.

“No, when the sun begin to rise, that is the sign that another day will come,” answered the other disciples. The Master answered: You did not get the right answer my dear disciples. As long as you remain in darkness, there will be no another day in your life.”

This is true my dear friends, as long as we do not see the face of Christ in other people, we will remain in darkness. As long as you do not show to other people the face of Christ through you, there will be no tomorrow and there will be no other day to come in our lives. I ask you reflect on this. Let us also pray to God that He may give us His grace of waiting so that we may become more vigilant and still awake when He will come again.

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First Sunday of Advent A

First Sunday of Advent A

 A mother was standing vigil by the bedside of her sick child. She was watching for signs of improvement or worsening of the illness. She was drowsy and sleepy but she was constantly at watch, ready to respond to any need of her child. She was vigilant.

It takes effort to be watchful. One has to overcome boredom. The watcher has to concentrate his faculties to the task at hand. In military circles, sentry duty is a serious obligation. One can be liable to a court martial in case of laxity, especially in times of war.

Today we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent. We are at the beginning of a new liturgical year. Just as we traditionally stand vigil to greet the New Year, so we are urged to stand vigil at the Church’s New Year. The Gospel this Sunday cautions us, “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” (Mt 24: 41) Be vigilant at all times.

What are we to be vigilant about? What are we watching for? In many children’s mind, we are watching for the coming of Christmas. We are waiting for the birthday of the Baby Jesus. We are making ourselves ready for a traditional and emotional celebration. For some people, Christmas is a time for parties, gifts, reunion, music, and symbols.

We can move higher in our understanding of vigilance. We are not just recalling an old event. We are not just retelling Christmas story. Advent reminds us to be watchful for opportunities to meet the Lord Jesus in our daily life. He, who has come two thousand years ago, is still present among us and comes to us today in many ways. The Lord may knock on our hearts today in the form of a little child, an old woman, or a common-looking person.

We are also being reminded today of our ultimate goal – to meet the Lord. We are eager to meet famous personalities. We get excited when a well-known actor, actress, or boxer is about to arrive. We spend so much energy and time to prepare for the coming of a politician. How much more eager should we be when we are about to meet the Lord?

If we do not want to meet anybody, it is because we are unprepared, ashamed, afraid, or feel unworthy. The Good News is that the Lord is eager to meet us and wants to come among us, even the way we are now. If the Lord is eager to meet us, even as we are, we naturally would like to make ourselves and our homes more presentable to Him.

My dear people, Advent is the time for us to make this preparation by repenting for our sins, by renewing our lives through prayer, penance, and by sharing our blessings with others. Advent also provides an opportunity for us to check for what needs to be put right in our lives, to see how we have failed, and to assess the ways in which we can do better. Let us remember the words of Alexander Pope: “What does it profit me if Jesus is reborn in thousands of cribs all over the world and not reborn in my heart?”

Jesus must be reborn in our hearts and lives, during this season of Advent, and every day of our lives, in our love, in our kindness, in our mercy and in our forgiveness. Then only we will be able to give people his hope by caring for those in need, give them his peace by turning the other cheek when we are provoked, give them his love by encouraging those who are feeling sad or tired, and give them His joy by encouraging and helping those who feel at the end of their strength, by showing them that we care and that God cares as well. When we do these kinds of things we will receive hope, peace, love, and joy in return. Then we will know that when the King, our Lord Jesus returns on the clouds of glory, we will be ready for him.

The Lord has fulfilled His promise to come among us (Jr. 33: 14-16). May we also take the time to conduct ourselves in a manner that pleases God (1 Thes 4:1) God is faithful. Let us also be faithful. Let our prayer during Advent season be, “Maranatha”. Come Lord Jesus, come! Amen

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First Sunday of Advent B4

First Sunday of Advent B4

Once there was a round table discussion on religion and freedom in which many theologians and famous religious leaders were present.  Dalai Lama, the Tibetan religious leader and a Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff were also taking part. During recess, there was a brief discussion between Dalai Lama and Leonardo. Leonardo asked Dalai Lama: “Your holiness, what is the best religion?”

Leonardo thought that he would say: “The Tibetan Buddhism” or “The oriental religions, much older than Christianity.” Dalai Lama paused for a moment, smiled and looked into his eyes and said: “The best religion is the one that gets you closest to God and makes you a better person.” He further asked him: "But what is it, that makes him a better person?"  Dalai Lama responded: “Whatever makes you more compassionate, more sensible, more detached, more loving, more humanitarian, more responsible and more ethical.”  “The religion that will do that for you, is the best religión.”

Leonardo was silent at his wise and irrefutable response. Dalai Lama said, "I am not interested about your religion or if you are religious or not. What really is important to me is your behaviour in front of your friends, your family, your work,  your community, and in front of the world and God." Remember, the universe is the echo of our actions and our thoughts. The law of action and reaction is not exclusively for physics.  It is also of human relations. If I act with goodness, I will receive goodness. If I act with eviI, I will get evil. You will always have what you desire for others. Being happy is not a matter of destiny. It is a matter of options. And finally he said: Be Vigilant, watchful and careful at all times in your life.

Today is the beginning of Advent, that time of the Liturgical year wherein the Church reminds us to be vigilant, watchful and hopeful as we prepare for the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ. On this first Sunday of Advent, we are warned that everything will end. This is a very timely reminder especially for those who continue to believe that they can extend, prolong or perpetuate their worldly pursuit of power, fame, riches and glory, even at the expense of other people and God Himself. The message is simple, loud and clear. The key word of today's Gospel is WATCH which sums up what Dalai Lama said to Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff. The word for word, W-A-T-C-H stands for:

W stands for Words. Our irresponsible use of words can hurt and destroy people. Many relationships had been broken with onslaught of vile language, cursing and gossiping. Let our mouths be instruments of blessing rather than cursing and gossiping, of kindness than condemnation, of appreciation than destructive criticism and of praising than blaspheming. That is why a saying goes this way: “The tongue should be used to bless rather than to curse; to compliment rather than to criticize; to highlight good qualities rather than focus on bad qualities.”

A stands for Actions. If we are to be jailed today for being a Christian, what proof can our accusers show that we are really one? If actions speak louder than words, do our actions reflect profoundly our faith? We know that mere profession of faith is not enough. We need to express it concretely in deeds. Can we be more loving, caring and forgiving in our lives?

T stands for Thoughts. A wise man once said: “All that we are is a result of what we have thought. It begins with our thoughts, it is carried on with our thoughts and ends with our thoughts.” The New Testament standard is that it is never enough to avoid doing wicked things; it is to restrain our thoughts not to even desire them. The word may never be concerned with judging the thoughts of humans. But for Christ, thoughts are just as important as actions.

C stands for Character. Saint Paul says: “Fortitude produces character” and “character produces hope,” (Rom 5:4). When trials afflict people, some may allow themselves to whine and grovel in despair, other may spur themselves with the opportunities of merging stronger and greater and nearer to God. Christians are those who set efforts and hopes in bringing about God’s kingdom in their midst. What is the character of our lives? Is it devoted to our own glory or God’s glory?

H stands for Hearts. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” (Matt 6:21). If our hearts fixed on possessions, we become greedy; if they are directed to having popularity and power, we become proud; if our hearts are set on worldly security, we become people of fear. What is in our hearts? Is it a heart full of love for God and for those whom we have committed ourselves to love? Or is it a heart full of H-Hatred, E-Envy, A-Anger, R-Resentment and T-Timidity?

Today is the first week of Advent. Jesus tells His disciples to be vigilant at all times. He tells us to be alert and to be on the watch, and not let our hearts cause anxieties of daily life. Let us watch and our watch will bring conversion in our lives. Let us prepare ourselves for the coming Christmas celebration which involves a spiritual renewal on our part so that we can celebrate Christmas meaningfully and allow our Lord to come into our lives. Let us be watchful against devil and his evil ways and resolve to walk in the light of the Lord.

“Take care of your Thoughts because they become Words.

Take care of your Words because they will become Actions.

Take care of your Actions because they will become Habits.

Take care of your Habits because they will form your Character.

Take care of your Character because it will form your Destiny,

And your Destiny will be your Life. "There is no religion higher than the Truth.” 

First Sunday of Advent B3

 First Sunday of Advent B3

There once was a king who loved to eat. When the castle cook grew too old to prepare the meals anymore, the king looked for a new cook. A young man applied for the job. The king said to him, "I want you to cook me the best and most important dish in the whole world." The night the king sat down at the table. When he looked at the special dish, he exclaimed, "Why, that’s cow tongue!"

The young man answered, "Yes, it is. Nothing is more important then the tongue if it is used correctly. The tongue is used to teach, to explain, to command, to defend, to calm. Tongues are used to sing to babies and to make bargains. Tongue has to be the most important thing for a king."

"I must say I didn’t realize that, young man. You’ve opened my eyes. Therefore, tomorrow night, I want you to fix me the worst dish you know." The next night, the young man served the king cow tongue. The king said, "What goes on here? Last night, tongue was the best dish in the world. Tonight it’s the worst. How can this be?"

"The difference is what you do with it, sir," said the young man. "Tongues make gossip, stir up trouble, and tell lies. Tongues are cruel and hypocritical. Therefore, tongue can be the worst dish in the world." "Yes, I see. I also see that I need your wisdom in my court. I’ll get someone else to do the cooking."

Being awake literally means that we take care of ourselves through the five external senses, hearing, seeing, tasting, touch, smelling. We often falter in their use. Either we use them for our own pleasure or we use them to target someone who is against us. Our sins often are committed through our five senses in the first place, and then we commit them in our heart. If we can apply the wisdom of this little story to all the senses and to our entire being, I am sure we would be doing the right thing expecting our Saviour in our hearts for Christmas.

Today's readings touch upon a number of spiritual issues. They reveal to us that God is faithful, His Word being unchanging. They teach us the end result of righteousness. They tell us that although we presently dwell in our present sinful physical bodies that seek to oppose what is spiritual, we can still be blameless before God on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. These are all very powerful statements that deserve to be reviewed so that they may be understood.

But for those who turn their hearts away from the Lord, God treats them as children, disciplining them as a loving Father. Allowing all to enjoy their free will, the Lord permits them for some time to stray away from His ways, hardening their hearts so that they do not fear Him.​

When some deliberately turn to sin, the Lord is angry. He hides Himself from them because they are like filthy cloths. Like a leaf, the sinners are taken away by the wind to fade away at a distance. Having turned from the ways of the Lord, no longer calling on His Holy Name, the sinners are left to their own iniquities.

Jesus said to keep awake, in the evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrow, or at dawn. By this, He meant to be spiritually active and consistent. Do not take a break in your spiritual lives to relapse into sin. For that sinful moment may be the moment when you will be called and judged according to the actions of your heart at the moment of physical death.​

Consider it similar to when we buy a house and have to make monthly payments. What happens if we miss a monthly payment? We lose our house! In His infinite grace, God patiently awaits for all to live according to His Holy ways, not suddenly calling everyone who misses on a payment. If He did so, He would not have any children left because we are all sinners, weak in the human nature.

Keep awake, means that we become conscious of ourselves. We need from time to time remind ourselves of the dangers that are around us. Just things happen. Someone dies of road accident, perhaps he/she never thought of it. Keeping awake in these times of uncertainty is necessary.

So often when we hear talk about Christ's coming, it is presented as though it is something to fear. Images of death, guilt and sinfulness leading to the awesome Judgment throne of a righteous God come to mind. Perhaps we very naturally think of it in terms of the days of our life having come to an end and the eternal night about to fall. But Paul's image is reversed. It is not the day that is about over - nor is it the darkness and evil of night that approaches. Rather, it is the night that is about over and the dawn will come with a glorious day ahead. Are we sleeping yet? Let us Wake up - walk with Christ - for the glorious day of the Lord is coming.

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First Sunday of Advent B2

First Sundayof Advent B2

 

From today onwards we are starting Advent Season and a new Liturgical year of Cycle B with readings mainly from the Gospel of Mark, supplemented with the Gospel of john. This gives us a chance to make a fresh start. Advent season is a season of preparation of fixing Jesus in our hearts.

Once there was a round table discussion on religion and freedom in which many theologians and famous religious leaders were present.  Dalai Lama, the Tibetan religious leader and a Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff were also taking part. During recess, there was a brief discussion between Dalai Lama and Leonardo. Leonardo asked Dalai Lama: “Your holiness, what is the best religion?”

Leonardo thought that he would say: “The Tibetan Buddhism” or “The oriental religions, much older than Christianity.” Dalai Lama paused for a moment, smiled and looked into his eyes and said: “The best religion is the one that gets you closest to God and makes you a better person.” He further asked him: "But what is it, that makes him a better person?"  Dalai Lama responded: “Whatever makes you more compassionate, more sensible, more detached, more loving, more humanitarian, more responsible and more ethical.”  “The religion that will do that for you, is the best religión.”

Leonardo was silent at his wise and irrefutable response. Dalai Lama said, "I am not interested about your religion or if you are religious or not. What really is important to me is your behaviour in front of your friends, your family, your work,  your community, and in front of the world and God." Remember, the universe is the echo of our actions and our thoughts. The law of action and reaction is not exclusively for physics.  It is also of human relations. If I act with goodness, I will receive goodness. If I act with eviI, I will get evil. You will always have what you desire for others. Being happy is not a matter of destiny. It is a matter of options. And finally he said: Be Vigilant and careful at all times in your life.

“Take care of your Thoughts because they become Words.

Take care of your Words because they will become Actions.

Take care of your Actions because they will become Habits.

Take care of your Habits because they will form your Character.

Take care of your Character because it will form your Destiny,

And your Destiny will be your Life. "There is no religion higher than the Truth.”  

And that truth is found in the incarnation which we celebrate year after year and this celebration starts with the preparation of the coming of our Saviour known as Advent. He came two thousands years ago and gave the summary of Dalai Lama's thought on religion in one word, Love. Love God and Love your neighbour, that is the best religion. 

We are preparing ourselves for the coming of Christmas, the birthday anniversary of the Lord's coming into this world as God incarnate. The people of Israel expected  

something profound to happen when God  came to the world. So they were not able to accept Son of God who was born in a manger, born to  an ordinary man and woman. The season of advent is a warning for us not to  wait for something profound to happen as did the people of Jesus times.

The message of Advent is: Live the life in full.  Push the limits, get outside your comfort zone, and make your own path.  Too many of us spend too much time inside, contemplating things that mean nothing,  and complaining about it. It reminds us to leave all comfort and security behind to serve someone, to heal someone, to help someone, to teach someone and to care for someone.  That is what Mary and Joseph did. So they were able to see the Son of God in that infant. That is what the shepherds did. So they were able to see the Son of God in that infant. That is what the Magi did so they were able to see the Son of God in that infant.

In this season of Advent let us follow the example of Mary and extend our little support to our brothers so that when God comes to us we will be able to  recognize and accept him.

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First Sunday of Advent B1

First Sunday of Advent B1

Today is the First Sunday of Advent which speaks about the coming of our Saviour into this word and specially in our own lives. He comes everyday silently in our lives without prior information. I am reminded of a poem of Gitanjali no 45, written by Rabindra Nath Tagore. Which go like this:-

Have you not heard his silent steps, 

He comes, comes, and ever comes.

Every moment and every age, 

Every day and every night,

He comes, comes, ever comes.

Many a song have I sung, in many a mood of mind,

But all their notes have always proclaimed,

He comes, comes, ever comes.

In the fragrant days of sunny April through the forest path

He comes, comes, ever comes.

In the rainy gloom of July nights on thundering chariot of clouds

He comes, comes, ever comes

In sorrow after sorrow, it is his steps that press upon my heart,

And it is the golden touch of his feet, that makes my joy to shine.

- (Tagore, Gitanjali, 45)

The Lord comes to us in many ways and manners which we do not understand. He made Himself available to us in variety of ways. He comes in our life in beauty; He comes in our life in love, in strength, in goodness, in friendship and in support. He comes in our life in sorrow and in joy.

My dear people, He comes every day  but  we fail to recognize him because we are too busy in our materialistic world. In today’s gospel Jesus encourages his followers to remain alert in the spirit. We need to be awake in faith to recognize and serve Christ in these commonplace and routine encounters since it will do us no good to recognize him on the Last Day if we have not recognized and served him day by day.

Accidents happen when we least expect them. A sensible man would be prepared for the unexpected. He would protect himself with insurance to protect his property; he would save money for a rainy day, would anticipate for a moment of disgrace and would at least be prepared mentally to cope up with any situation or distress. On the other hand, the foolish man never plans the future; he never anticipates for calamities, he takes everything for granted. When evil strikes him, he is caught unaware.

We are living in a time of great calamities, when apocalyptical prophecies are being fulfilled. Do we think we are safe? Do we think we are better off than anyone else and that we may escape the tribulation that has been predicted for everyone? 

we are better off than anyone else and that we may escape the tribulation that has been predicted for everyone?

If we are going away on a trip, we prepare ourselves in many ways. We prepare our luggage, make travel arrangements, prepare our camera, obtain foreign currency, get a passport and obtain visas for the places we will visit, in other words we spare no effort in order to secure a safe and happy holiday.

We know very well that preparation is the secret of success, not only in earthly activities, but also in our spiritual life. And just as we anticipate the weather by movements of the clouds and the winds, we can also understand that we are living in very dangerous times when things may change very quickly from one moment to the next.

We are talking here about our trip from this life into eternity. A whole life is given to us so that we may stop frequently and meditate about it. It is very important for us to be constant and persevere in our spiritual life otherwise when the final moment arrives it will catch us unaware.

I do not want anyone to be lost; this is why I came personally to proclaim my message of salvation to everyone, so that no one would be lost, says the Lord!”

It is never too late to stop and reflect on these spiritual realities that unfortunately get obscured with all the worldly occupations.

The Lord is telling us once more, repent and amend your life, be more aware of your reality as a spiritual being. Remember that the time will come when you will be called to enter into the spiritual realm for eternity and depending on how you lived your life you will either be saved or condemned. It is a very serious situation that needs urgent attention; do not procrastinate. Start doing something about it before it is too late. Be alert, keep praying and watching.

Let us pray, Lord open our eyes in faith to see God present and active in our life and in our world. Open our heart and our house to the Lord who comes to us daily in the form of the needy man or woman. This is the best way to prepare to welcome the Lord when he comes on the Last Day​.

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First Sunday of Advent B

First Sunday of Advent B

Before performing the Sacrament of Baptism, the priest approaches the young father and said, "Baptism is a serious step. Are you prepared for it?" The man replied. "I think so. My wife has made appetizers and we have a caterer coming to provide plenty of cookies and cakes for all of our guests." 

"I don't mean that," the priest responded. "I mean, are you prepared spiritually?" 

"Oh, sure," came the reply. "I have got a crate of beer and a case of whiskey."  We may laugh at the young man, but the way many of us today prepare for the coming of the Lord at Christmas is not much different from the way the man prepared for baptism.

The season of Advent is a time for Christians to prepare for the coming of the Lord. Actually we remember three of comings of the Lord. 

First, we celebrate something that happened in the past, namely, the birth of the Messiah into the world which took place more than 2000 years ago. 

Secondly, we prepare for something that will happen in the future, namely, the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. 

And thirdly, we celebrate something that happens in the present, namely, the many moments of grace which are occasions for the Lord to come into the lives of Christians, into our souls as individual believers and in our midst as the community of the people of God.

Unfortunately, our preparation for Christmas is often a very material affair. For too many of us, Advent is the ultimate shopping season. We shop for gifts, for toys, for special food and drinks. Advent has become a time for overly material concerns, as we make sure we are not lacking in any gift item or toy, or food or drink for the celebration of Christmas. How sharply our attitude contrasts with that of the early Christians to whom Paul writes in the 2nd reading, "so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7).

While we hurry to stack up on material gifts, Paul advises his congregation to stack up on spiritual gifts. Later on in the same epistle (1 Corinthians 12), Paul enumerates the spiritual gifts, which include wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, workings of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. He, however, advises them to positively cultivate the higher gifts or faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 12:31). How are we stacking up on the gifts of faith, hope and love? At the coming of the Lord, it is the gifts of faith, hope and love that matter before any other. Giving and receiving material gifts is definitely important, but this should be a token of true love and not a casual act of civility or a show of affluence.

In the same vein, Paul gives thanks to God that the Christians of Corinth have been enriched in every way in Christ. When we hear that today, the first thing that comes to our minds is material wealth. But that is not what Paul has in mind. What Paul has in mind is that the Corinthians have been enriched in their knowledge and eloquence in bearing witness to Christ: "for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind - just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you" (1 Corinthians 1:5-6).

As today we enter the season of Advent and countdown to Christmas, the Church reminds us that the celebration of Christmas is essentially a spiritual affair. Let us not forget this as we run about in the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and preparation, "so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:8).