First Sunday of Advent (“C”)
Q. 713: Distress, confusion, fainting, fear, foreboding, surprise: these gospel words don't sound like Advent holiday greetings! (Return to INDEX page of "Didja Know?" series)
December 2, 2012
A. 713: The thrust of the readings today are oriented toward “expectation.” We need to be in constant readiness for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will indeed come again!
The prophecy given by the Prophet Jeremiah (First Reading: Jer. 33:14-16) has already been fulfilled; the “righteous Branch” [NRSV] or “just shoot” [NAB-RE] of which he speaks is none other than Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah who by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
So the words of the Messiah, Jesus in today’s gospel (Luke 21:25-28, 34-36) become very important. He knows that the price he will be paying for our redemption is nothing less than his very life blood. So he asks us to look forward to the future, to the second coming. If we are true disciples, then we have nothing to fear from all the warnings and signs. Instead, we will be enabled to stand before the Son of Man.
The key to these readings is found in the Second Reading (1 Thess. 3:12–4:2). There St. Paul guides us to see that a life lived in love for one another, the Christ-life, will bear its fruit at the second coming of Jesus. To practice daily the virtues of holiness, and live our lives blamelessly – that is what is “pleasing” to God. So live expectantly, live fearlessly, and live the Christ-life: that is all that Jesus asks from us.
KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! How many times do we have to be told something before it sinks in and we respond properly? Jesus is relentless in his call to everyone to be “watchful.” How does one avoid falling into temptation and avoid joining the group of those who will fear, be distressed, and faint at the second coming of Jesus? Never underestimate the power of an active prayer life! (CCC 2612)
Deacon Paul Rooney
Mary Our Queen Parish, Omaha
(Go back to Deacon Paul's HOME PAGE)
