Servant of the Word: First Sunday of Advent

Catechism Links[1]

CCC 668-677, 769: The final tribulation and Christ’s return in glory

CCC 451, 671, 1130, 1403, 2817: “Come, Lord Jesus!”

CCC 439, 496, 559, 2616: Jesus is the Son of David

CCC 207, 210-214, 270, 1062-1063: God is faithful and merciful

“The Triumph Of Christianity Over Paganism”
by Gustave Doré, c. 1868

Readings for the First Sunday of Advent [2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]

Commentary:

Reading 1: Jeremiah 33:14-16

Commentary on Jer 33:14-16

Jeremiah predicts the continuation of the dynasty of King David (“I will raise up for David a just shoot”) in fulfillment of the prophecy made to Nathan in 2 Samuel 7:11-16 (see also Psalm 89:35ff). "The reference to the true [just] branch [shoot] of David's line draws on Isaiah 11:1-16 which portrays the righteous Davidic monarch as a branch ('tsemah') from the root of Jesse, language which is at home in the agriculturally centered world of ancient Israel." [5] To contemporaries of the period, this would have announced the restoration of Judah and Jerusalem. This selection is the second time the prophet has predicted the coming of the Messiah, the first being in Jeremiah 23:5-6. This prediction, fulfilled in Jesus, is one reason so much stress is laid on Jesus’ genealogy.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14

R. (1b) To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Commentary on Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14

In this hymn of thanksgiving, we hear the petition we have all made many times. In paraphrase, it is “God tell me what you want me to do. Tell me how to follow you.” It goes on to say how blessed are those who have found that path. This selection gives a clear sense of the Lord’s path announced by angelic messengers, prophets and the very Law of Moses: the culmination and completion of God’s covenants in the tradition of the Hebrews.

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Reading II: 1 Thessalonians 3:12—4:2

Commentary on 1 Thes 3:12—4:2

St. Paul speaks to the Thessalonians about encouraging their already fervent love for one another and the Lord. This selection (4:1ff) begins the Apostle’s exhortation on holiness and chastity. He has warned them earlier that they will be facing resistance, and that it is now necessary to strengthen themselves for what is to come. The reference to "instructions" refers to Christian morality. "Christian morality is not viewed as natural law, but as the will of God (Matthew 6:10). sanctification: This connotes a progress toward holiness, a likeness to God (3:13). [6]

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Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Commentary on Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus finds it necessary to remind his disciples not to become complacent in their practice of the faith. It is one of his sternest warnings that the end will come without notice and judgment will be immediate. The final verses of this same Gospel reading concluded the Liturgical Year, having been used the previous day (Saturday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time) and is repeated to begin the Advent season. This dual use emphasizes that we celebrate not only the coming of Christ in his nativity but look forward to his second coming in Glory.

"It is clear from this short section that Luke (different from 1 Thessalonians) eliminated the idea of an immediate Parousia. Sudden trials will strike everyone, and so there is need of continual vigilance. Everyone, however, will eventually take part in the Parousia. How a person lives now determines how he will 'stand before the Son of Man.'" [7]

CCC: Lk 21:27 671, 697; Lk 21:34-36 2612

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Homily:

Happy new year! It is indeed the beginning of the new church or liturgical year. We start fresh, as we do at the beginning of the new calendar year, seeking to improve ourselves through resolutions and promises. The main differences are, in the year of our faith journey, we seek to draw closer to our Lord Jesus’ example of love for others and love of God. We start our efforts to become more Christ-like by recalling that Jesus is coming – our Advent Season.

The Advent season is intended to be analogous to a child’s gleeful anticipation on Christmas Eve. From a spiritual perspective, our Advent season is intended to rekindle our anticipation for Christ’s ultimate victory, coming in glory, robed in light, by reminding us of his enigmatic first coming for our salvation.

I have marveled before that for all of our reflection and prayer, for all of our questioning and study, we find that in the millennia since Christ walked the earth as man that others, graciously endowed with the gift of faith, have reflected more deeply and expressed more clearly the ideals the Lord saw fit to impart. In this case I offer the words of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church who served us until his death in 386 AD as an example:

We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom.

In general, what relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two aspects. There is a birth from God before the ages, and a birth from a virgin at the fullness of time. There is a hidden coming, like that of rain on fleece, and a coming before all eyes, still in the future.

At the first coming he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. At his second coming he will be clothed in light as in a garment. In the first coming he endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming he will be in glory, escorted by an army of angels.

We look then beyond the first coming and await the second. At the first coming we said: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. At the second we shall say it again; we shall go out with the angels to meet the Lord and cry out in adoration: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. (From the Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem)

St. Cyril reminds us, as does the Gospel from St. Luke, that the Kingdom of God has not yet been fulfilled. While we most commonly use this Advent season to anticipate the triumph of the manger, we need also to be vigilant in our faith as the Lord’s second coming needs to find us diligent in our faith.

This year something new is added. For the people of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, we are embarking upon a transformation. It will truly follow our Lord’s instructions to be faithful and vigilant. This year we begin in earnest to change ourselves into what our leadership has imagined we can become. This begins with our Parish Vision about which you have already heard but what will become central to the life of our parish in the year, actually the years, ahead since we cannot accomplish all we will need to in a single year.

To refresh your memories, here is the vision of what we hope to become:

St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church is a welcoming community that exists to make and equip missionary disciples through a transformative encounter with Jesus Christ, the Gate of Heaven. As Spirit-filled disciples, we learn to connect and share our life in Christ, love and serve the greater community, and worship and adore the living God.

What we hope will happen, in part, is that these words will be lifted up and looked at by everyone in our parish. We pray that each of us will do their parts to become active participants in making our vision a reality.

Since I was part of the team that crafted the picture painted by the words of our vision, I’ll share my own thoughts as to what this vision means to me.

The first part states that St. Thomas is a “welcoming community.” For me, this means that when I come here as part of our house of worship, I am warm and welcoming to each person I meet, whether they are people I have known for the past 40 years or people I am meeting for the first time. I will put away my stress and reach out for the peace of Christ. I know there are some who find this difficult. But each person who comes here carries a burden and a simple smile and acknowledgement can tell that person they are welcome and their burden is shared.

Next is a statement about why we exist as a parish: “to make and equip missionary disciples through a transformative encounter with Jesus Christ, the Gate of Heaven.” There are a few definitions in this statement that can use some explanation. First of all, a disciple is one who is a student of our Lord, Jesus Christ. There is a very old Latin text that captures the whole concept of “missionary disciples”: Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi. This Latin axiom is translated loosely as: “As we Worship [Pray], So we Believe, So we Live.” Since most of us do not live cloistered lives, that means (hopefully) we take our beliefs into to world beyond these walls. To do otherwise is hypocrisy. So our parish exists to create in us the ability, mindful of Christ’s teachings, to express our selves as obvious Christians in a secular world. And we can do this because we have, through our worship and prayer encountered Jesus in the Eucharist and in our welcoming body (the Living Body of Christ), in this house of worship which has inscribed (also in Latin) “This is nothing more than the house of God and the Gate of Heaven.”

The final sentence provides a summary of what we hope to become – spirit-filled – connecting with others, unified in our beliefs, expressing the love Christ through our worship and our interactions with everyone we meet, be they our fellow parishioners or people we meet at work, school, or on the street.

Our scripture for this first week of our Advent season expresses this very thought. So in this new year, we ask that your pledge yourselves to that ancient axiom: “As we Worship [Pray], So we Believe, So we Live.”

Pax

[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.

[2] The picture is “The Triumph Of Christianity Over Paganism” by Gustave Doré, c. 1868

[3] S.S. Commemoratio