FIRST READING (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.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM (Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19)
Refrain: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
1) O shepherd of Israel, hearken, from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power, and come to save us. (Refrain:)
2) 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. (Refrain:)
3) 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. (Refrain:)
SECOND READING (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.
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!"
(Copyright 1970, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2001 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. Washington D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Copyright 1970, 1997, 1998 Contraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
The English translation of some Psalm responses, some Alleluia and Gospel verses and the Lenten Gospel Acclamations, some Summaries, and the Titles and Conclusion of the Readings, from the Lectionary for Mass copyright 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc., Washington D.C. All rights reserved.
The poetic English translation of the sequences of the Roman Missal are taken from the Roman Missal approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States, copyright 1964 by the National Catholic Welfare Conference, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission of ICEL. )
- An elderly woman named Maude had a window seat on a big 747 jetliner that had just taken off for Rome. She had been scrimping for years to fulfill her dream of travelling to Europe to visit the exotic places she'd read about all her life. But it was her first flight and she was terrified! "O Lord, what am I doing up, here?" she kept repeating to herself. Even the stately presence of the four bishops seated behind her didn't help. With fear and trembling, she finally opened her eyes and peeped out the window just in time to see one of the plane's four engines break loose from the wing and disappear into the clouds below. Maude was panic-stricken: "We're going to die! We're going to die" she cried out. The chief stewardess immediately consulted with the pilot, and then announced to the passengers that everything was under control. "The captain assures you", she said, "that he can fly the airplane back to New York and land safely on three motors." But poor, panic-stricken Maude continued to cry out, "We're going to die! We're going to die!" The stewardess came over to her and said, "Don't worry, my dear, God is with us. We have only three motors but, look, we have four bishops." To which Maude replied, "I'd rather have four motors and three bishops." (1)
Our Lord has told us in today's gospel passage that we do not know when our time will come. In our story, Maude was certain that hers had arrived quite unexpectedly right then and there on that plane. And because we do not know, and as our Lord also has advised us today, we need to be ready.
As you can tell by the different color of our vestments, we have entered into a new season of the Church's liturgical calendar. In fact, today is not only the First Sunday of Advent but also the first day of the new church year. Until the end of the liturgical year on the Feast of Christ the King next year, we will be primarily hearing passages from the gospel of Mark.
But what is the purpose of Advent? I'm sure that all of you would answer this question by saying that it is the season in the Church's year which leads to Christmas. So in order to better understand Advent, we have to understand the origins of Christmas, which was not celebrated by Christians until the fourth century. "The pagans of that time saw the world as a great cosmic struggle between the powers of darkness and the powers of light. And they noticed that at different times darkness seemed to be winning over the light, so to speak. They were watching, if you will, two great cosmic wrestlers and at this time of the year, it appeared that the wrestler called darkness would seem to be getting the upper hand because the days were getting shorter. At least until December 21, which is when they noticed that the tables were beginning to turn, and that the sun was regaining its strength. And so when they saw this happening on an annual basis, the pagans celebrated the resurrection, or the return of the light of the sun. It was a 'sun feast', marking the transition time from darkness to light.
"When the Christians came along they took over this pagan notion. They said, 'It's a pretty good idea that you've got here, and after all, we know that if you're really talking about darkness and light, the only real darknesses of this world are the darkness of sin and the darkness of death. And the only light in this world is Jesus. So we'll keep your ideas.'
"But what the Christians did, as it were, they took the word 'sun' and they took out the middle letter, 'u,' and they changed it to 'o'. So the sun they were talking about was Jesus, the Son of God, and they made this time of year a celebration when we would get ready for the tables to be turned. In the great struggle, this was the time when sin and death would now be overcome by the light of the world, Jesus, the S-o-n of God. So they called this time Christmas, and they made Advent the time of considering an end of darkness and looking forward to the coming light." (2)
Thus it is that the readings, especially during the first two weeks of the Advent season each year, look forward to the end of time and the need for us to be prepared. This theme of preparedness was in the news a great deal in the year 2000 as we heard and read much about the "Y2K" crisis which threatened to shut down much of our modern technological machines and computers. I'm sure all of you scurried about making sure that your own systems were "Y2K-proof". And why did you do that? Because you knew if you didn't, you might be playing with fire. If you weren't as prepared as possible, you might wake up on New Year's Day and find that all of your computer systems were down. And, in this day and age, that would definitely have provoked a panic situation.
It is the same in our spiritual lives. We need to constantly be ready because we know not the day nor the hour. And suppose we knew when the end would come? Wouldn't we live different lives? But how? Here's what one author suggests:
- It's not too early to give some things away this Christmas. Not just on Christmas Day, but during all the days leading up to December 25. We could call these daily gifts "our Christmas projects". Maybe one per day from now 'til then. Here are a few suggestions.
- Mend a quarrel.
- Seek out a forgotten friend.
- Dismiss suspicion.
- Write a long overdue love note.
- Hug someone tightly and whisper, "I love you so."
- Forgive an enemy.
- Be gentle and patient with an angry person.
- Express appreciation.
- Gladden the heart of a child.
- Find the time to keep a promise
- Make or bake something for someone else---anonymously.
- Release a grudge.
- Just listen, for a change.
- Speak kindly to a stranger.
- Enter into another's sorrow.
- Smile. Laugh a little. Laugh a little more.
- Take a walk with a friend.
- Kneel down and pat a dog.
- Read a poem or two to your mate or friend.
- Lessen your demands on others.
- Play some beautiful music during the evening meal.
- Apologize if you were wrong.
- Turn off the television and talk.
- Treat someone to an ice-cream cone (yogurt would be fine).
- Do the dishes for the family.
- Pray for someone who helped you when you hurt.
- Fix breakfast on Saturday morning.
- Give a gentle answer even though you feel strongly.
- Encourage an older person.
- Point out one thing you appreciate most about someone with whom you live or work
- Offer to baby-sit for a weary mother.
- Give your teacher a break: be especially cooperative.
Let's make Christmas one long, extended gift of ourselves to others. Unselfishly. Without announcement. Or obligation. Or reservation. Or hypocrisy. After all, this is Christianity, isn't it? (3)
We have about four weeks to prepare for Christ's coming. During that time, we ought to look into our hearts and see what we need to get rid of so that there is room for the Lord in them. Are you ready??? Only your heart knows for sure.
References
1. Four Motors and Three Bishops. From Behold We Live. Reprinted with permission from the Sunday Sermons on CD-ROM Collection, copyright 1997 by Voicings Publications, Margate, NJ.
2. from The Meaning of Advent, copyright 1991 by William J. Bausch. Reprinted with permission from Telling Stories, Compelling Stories, pp. 132-137, Twenty-third Publications, Mystic, CT.
3. Daily Gifts, copyright 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll. Reprinted with permission from The Finishing Touch, Word Publishing, Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Also included in Christmas Stories for the Heart, by Alice Gray, pp. 121-122. Copyright 1997 by Multnomah Publishers, Sisters, OR.
(Copyright 2014 by the Spirit through Deacon Sil Galvan, with a little help from the friends noted above. Permission is freely granted for use, in whole or in part, in oral presentations. For permission to use in writing, please contact the human intermediary at deaconsil@comcast.net.)
Lord Jesus, you call us to realize that you are the potter and we are the clay in your hands. Lord, have mercy.
Christ Jesus, you call us to repent of our sins and to walk in your ways. Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you call us to be ready and watchful for your coming. Lord, have mercy.
Celebrant: The prophet Isaiah reminds us that no ear has ever heard, nor eye ever seen, the awesome deeds done by our God. Therefore, confident in God's power to accomplish all he wills, we bring our prayers and petitions before him.
Deacon/Lector: Our response is "Lord, help us to do your will".
That the leaders of the Church will help us to use this Advent season to prepare our hearts as a fitting place for the Lord, we pray to the Lord.
That the leaders of the nations of the world will do all in their power to bring peace on earth and end the wars in Ukraine and Israel, we pray to the Lord.
That the sick, the terminally ill and those who are grieving the loss of a loved one will find comfort in their faith, we pray to the Lord.
That the members of our parish community will use this time of preparation for the Lord's coming to be reconciled with others in their families, neighborhoods and workplaces, we pray to the Lord.
That all of those affected by natural disasters will be strengthened in their efforts to rebuild their lives and not give in to despair, we pray to the Lord.
That all of our brothers and sisters will be treated as our equals in the site of God regardless of their race, color, nationality or religion, we pray to the Lord.
For all of the intentions we hold in our hearts and which we now recall in silence. (Pause) For all of these intentions, we pray to the Lord.
Celebrant: Merciful Father, your Son has told us to always be ready for his coming in glory. Grant us the grace of your Spirit during this Advent season to remove from our hearts all that separates us from one another. We ask this through Christ our Lord.