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 35: God gives humanity grace to accept Revelation, welcome the Messiah
CCC 827, 1431, 2677, 2839: Acknowledging that we are sinners
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| “Polyptych of the Apocalypse" (central panel) by Jacobello Alberegno 1360-90 |
Readings for the First Sunday of Advent [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary:[4]
Reading 1: Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7
You, LORD, are our father,
our redeemer you are named forever.
Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,
while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,
such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him.
Would that you might meet us doing right,
that we were mindful of you in our ways!
Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful;
all of us have become like unclean people,
all our good deeds are like polluted rags;
we have all withered like leaves,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind.
There is none who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to cling to you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have delivered us up to our guilt.
Yet, O LORD, you are our father;
we are the clay and you the potter:
we are all the work of your hands.
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Commentary on Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7
This reading is part of what is called the “Psalm of Entreaty.” The Jewish people have returned from exile and find Jerusalem in ruins. Completely without resources, their only hope is in the Lord.
“Now at last the Lord comes as a conqueror and a Judge to dispense rewards and punishments. There are a number of oracles here to do with this theme, and they combine to create a long and beautiful apocalyptic poem. There are three stanzas in it: the first (63:1-6) describes the Lord's victory over the Edomites, the epitome of a nation hostile to Israel; the second (63:7-14) celebrates the mercy of God and all he has done for his people; the third (63:15-64:12) is an entreaty full of confidence in the Lord, our Father.” [5]
We hear the psalmist in these verses identify himself with a sinful and fallen people who see the Lord’s redemptive acts in the distant past (“such as they had not heard of from of old “). Pleading their unworthiness, he calls upon God to come to them in their need, return to them, his creation (“we are the clay and you the potter”).
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
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Commentary on Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
The call to the “Shepherd of Israel” is David’s plea for God to hear. This same “Good Shepherd” image is later applied to God’s Only Begotten Son. While this psalm is a lament, or plea for God’s help in time of distress for King David’s armies, we see in the language an indication of the Messiah to come: “May your help be with the man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.” The psalmist prays for God’s intervention and help, and in return promises faithfulness. He implores the Lord to send the Messiah: “Rouse your power, and come to save us.” This will be the gift that fulfills all hopes: “Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name.”
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Reading II: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Brothers and sisters:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Commentary on 1 Cor 1:3-9
This is the salutation portion of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. In typical letter format, he gives thanks to God for the gift of faith given to this community and continues his fervent wish that they (and we) be steadfast in the faith: “He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus (Christ).“ The reference to "the day of the our Lord" is a reference to the day of judgment when Christ will return again in glory (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:2). The Apostle emphasizes a recurring exhortation to Christians to remain faithful because the hour of the Lord's coming is not known.
CCC: 1 Cor 1:1-6 401
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Gospel: Mark 13:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his own work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”
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Commentary on Mk 13:33-37
Jesus, in the verses just prior to this selection, has just concluded his eschatological prediction about the destruction of the Temple (his body). He now renews and expands his exhortation to his disciples to remain vigilant. This commandment becomes the watchword of all Christians, in that vigilance means love. Through love all the commandments are kept, and the hope of Christ’s coming is strengthened. The final verse: “What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” expands this injunction to all the faithful.
CCC: Mk 13:33-37 672, 2849
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Reflection:
Our Advent season holds a complex set of emotions for us. At once we recall the upcoming celebration of Christmas with great anticipation and joy, while at the same time we look to the future when the Lord’s second coming will bring to fulfillment the promise of the angels who first heralded his birth.
As we look forward to the Christmas season, the feast of the Nativity of the Lord, we are filled with wonder at the great love God demonstrated, sending his only Son to us as a revelation. He showed us in the great efficacious act (he who came bringing hope was hope, he who came bringing love, was love!) that God’s love knows no bounds. In this anticipatory sense we feel the joy of the young child who has just learned they have won a great prize. Even though the prize has not yet been given, the simple knowledge of winning brings even greater hope and joy than the gift of the prize itself.
Even as we look forward to Christmas, now just a few short weeks away, we look beyond that date to the time when our Savior promised he would come again. As much as we must prepare for the Lord’s Nativity, we must be more diligent, more persistent in our preparation for the “big event.” The really good news is that if we prepare for the Lord’s birthday as we should, we are also preparing for his second coming as well.,
This is the message implicit in the Gospel. Let’s review what we know of God’s commandments to us. If we are anxious to please him and thereby give him what he wants, we should look to what he has asked of us. His first and greatest commandment was to love God and, the second was like it: to “Love one another.” If we can get much better at doing this, our exterior actions in preparation for the Lord’s birthday will reflect our interior preparation for the day when we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
In our love for God we come before him with Isaiah’s great hymn of entreaty: “Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways!” In our hearts God sees that love, a love most perfectly represented by his Son. In our own entreaty we call to him as generations of the faithful have done before “Come, Lord Jesus!” In that call we express our love for him and our expectation of his coming.
Our Advent season is one of complex emotions. Let us pray this season that the dominating emotion is love – love for God and love for one another. In love is hope, and in hope we experience the peace Christ brings.
For those of us still not able to receive Christ in the Eucharist, either out of caution or availability to attend Mass physically we offer this prayer:
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, And I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen
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 used today is “Polyptych of the Apocalypse (central panel) by Jacobello Alberegno 1360-90.
[3] Begins Cycle B, Year II, S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] The Navarre Bible: “Major Prophets,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp. 269-70.
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