The Double Sense of Advent

 

 

Happy New Year! Today we begin the new liturgical year in the Church with the beginning of the season advent. We can see this is a different time from ordinary time because of the different elements in the liturgy.  We can see right away the color of the vestments and decorations are no longer green but purple. We can also see our advent wreath with the candles around it. We heard that the advent wreath is a reminder for us of our yearning for God; the circular shape a reminder of God’s everlasting love and faithfulness; the green branches a reminder of eternal life and God’s desire for us to live with him forever; the candles are a remainder of the passing of time and God entering in human history. We also did not hear the Gloria that is usually sung after the penitential rite, and we will also hear a set of readings during this season that will talk about the of end times.

 

All these elements take place during this advent season in order to prepare us not only for the coming of Jesus at Christmas, but also to prepare us for the coming of Jesus at the end of times. Because of this, “there is always this double sense of adventus – a double sense of the Lord’s coming. The season prepares us for his coming in the graces of the Christmas feast and his coming in judgment at the end of times.” And our readings today exactly describe this doubles sense of the Lord’s coming.

 

We heard in our first reading, taken from the prophet Jeremiah, that the days are coming where The Lord will raise “a just shoot” according to the lineage of David. This means that the arrival of this just king will do what is right and just for the people of God and bring peace among them. What the prophet Jeremiah is doing is announcing and preparing the people of God of the coming of Jesus. Moreover, in the Gospel, Jesus reminds us of that day where there will be great signs that will announce the coming of the Son of Man. He will come “in a cloud with power and great glory” at the end of times.

 

If the coming of Jesus is near –either at Christmas or at the of times— what should we do? Let me tell you a lesson I have learn through my own experience. Having worked as a chaplain at a hospital and in giving communion to the sick every Saturday, I have learned that my patients or parishioners will do anything to receive the sacraments. This means waking up early, not eating at all in order to maintain the Eucharistic fast, leaving work early, staying up late, postponing their medical treatment, to mention a few, in order to welcome Jesus in the sacraments. I remember one time I entered the room of a patient and asking, “are you ready to receive Jesus?” and she replied, “I am always ready to receive Jesus.” My patients and parishioners knew that Jesus was coming to them, and they will do anything to prepare themselves for receive Him.

 

 My friends, we too are called to be like them even if it seems so little. We must prepare ourselves with prayer, temperance in physical pleasures, fortitude in time of distress, and with love in moments of sacrifice. The great danger for disciples of Jesus is that we get sidetracked while waiting for the return of the Lord and fail either in Temperance or fortitude. Failure of temperance is to start seeking physical pleasures and comforts in this temporary life. Failure of fortitude is to succumb to the anxieties of daily life.

 

However, my dear friends, the Eucharist is the most important preparation we have for the coming of Jesus for it is itself his coming. “In the preface that begins the Eucharistic Prayer on this Sunday, the community presents itself before God as "we who watch." We who watch ask that already today we may sing the hymn of all the angels: "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts." In proclaiming the Mystery of Faith we express the same spirit of watching: "When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again." In the Eucharistic Prayer the heavens are rent open and God comes down. In holy Communion the heavens are rent open and God comes down. The one whose body and Blood we receive today is the Son of Man who will come in a cloud with power and great glory. With his grace delivered in holy Communion it may be hoped that each one of us can exclaim, "I will ‘stand erect and raise my head, because my redemption is at hand.’ "