Sunday Reflections
1st Sunday of Advent year A
I am getting ready to meet Jesus
1.✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 24:37-44
Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”. Taken from today’s Sunday gospel for 1st Sunday of advent year A.
1. Today, we begin a new liturgical year, year A. It is also the beginning of the season of advent. Advent is a time of preparation for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know that Jesus was born more than two thousand years ago but the mother Church in her wisdom creates this time to help her children to reflect on how faithful they have been to the Lord and invites them to intense spiritual experience that will help them to purify their heart and be ready to meet their God whenever he comes to call them from this life.
2. The first reading speaks of the great future plan that God has for his people in Judah and Jerusalem (Is2:1-5). This great plan of grandeur can only come true if the people walk in the way of the Lord. That was why the first reading ended by saying: “House of Jacob, come, let us walk in light of the Lord.” In the gospel, Jesus speaks of the encounter that will take place in a no distant future. He will come to call the righteous. He observed that humanity may miss the great opportunity that his coming offers. He backed his claim by referring to what happened in the past in the day of Noah ( Gen6:5-8:22). God was calling attention to essential things, but people were busy with nonessential things. Today, humanity is still the same. The call from God is not always heeded.
3. Jesus maintains that his coming will involve a positive discrimination. Just as God was able to pick Noah out of the sinners that surrounded him, so will the son of man do with people at his coming. Two people will be together working, one will be taken and the other is abandoned. This underscores the fact that salvation will not be a group affair. Each person will be dealt with according to his/her behaviour.
4. Jesus does not want his followers to be frightened. He merely wants them to know that his coming will be without warning. They must strive to be always ready to meet him. He used an example of a house owner who would rather keep awake than allow a thief to break into his house. Staying awake means being morally vigilant to discern when sinful habits begin to creep into one’s life and having the courage to make a U-turn. Being awake involves knowing when sin is knocking at the door. For example, having the courage not to go on watching obsene images and video. It means having the courage to stop a conversation that could be classified as gossip or character assassination. It means having the gut to say no to some people and some suggestions.
5. In this first week of advent, show yourselves ready to welcome the Lord. Just a little parable to conclude: Imagine that you found yourself in a group by accident. All the people in the group were taken against their will in a plane to a beautiful island with modern facilities. Imagine that you were each asked to pick an ATM card at random and were told that each of the cards contained some money, some more, some less and that there was no way of knowing how much is contained in your card. You were further told to use the card for your needs with a caveat that whenever the money in your card finishes, you must walk back to the airport to be taken back to your home. If you were in such a condition, would you walk far from the airport? Would you not always have some edibles and water in your bag to enable you to have the energy to walk back? Such is our life on earth. We must always be ready to fly back. If you are getting ready to meet the Lord, you must abide by St. Paul’s teaching in today’s second reading (Rom 13:11-14). He invites us to avoid jealousy, drunkenness, and unchastity in its various forms and manifestations: pornography, masturbation, adultery, fornication and vulgar words. Make your heart a fitting home for the Lord.
