First Sunday of Advent 2022

Matthew

Rev. Neli Miranda

 

Today, we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent. Advent season opens a new Liturgical Year, gives us the opportunity to spiritually begin anew, and guides us on our path of preparation to receive God’s visitation on Christmas. The tradition for the first Sunday of Advent includes lighting the candle of hope, which reminds us that hope is a human vocation. This candle is also called the “Prophecy Candle” because it reminds us of the hopeful message of the prophets in the Old Testament, who dreamed of a world of peace as Isaiah reminds us today, “[the peoples] shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (2:4-5).

It was the prophets who gave voice to the people’s hope, who amid the monarchy’s mess and the difficult exile, remained faithful to God and envisioned liberation, restoration, and the coming of the Messiah of God. After a long time of Advent, Jesus fulfilled their hope, inaugurated the Kingdom of God on earth and promised his disciples that he would come again and then all creation would experience the fullness of the Kingdom of God. Thus, Advent is a time that imbues us with hope for a glorious future, which begins here and now.

In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus encouraging his disciples to stay awake and ready for his glorious coming because no one but the Father knows the day and hour. He draws an analogy that suggests that his return will be like the days of Noah when people lived senselessly. They lived only to eat, drink, marry, and give in marriage. They did not comprehend the coming judgment and knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away. But Jesus wants his disciples to stay awake, so he commands them to be hopeful and live as he has instructed them.

Today, many people seem to live senselessly, they are unaware of what is happening around them.  They are interested only in their own well-being: eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage as in the days of Noah. Others perpetrate violence against the little ones, they make war against each other and murdered defenseless people. Others, during this season, work on preparing strategies to make huge profits; Others, think on going on shopping and empty out the department stores.  Those people live unaware of the severe crisis facing humanity, but Jesus wants us, his disciples, to be awake, build our future, and await with hope the fullness of the Kingdom of God.

Dear sisters and brothers, Jesus’ disciples have kept awake for twenty centuries proclaiming the Kingdom of God already present in this world, and actively awaiting the glorious future announced by Jesus. Thus, on this first Sunday of Advent, as we prepare to celebrate God’s visitation on Christmas, let us raise our prophetic voices of hope among the world, let us dream of justice and peace, let us awaken our senses to live Jesus’ birth as anticipation of the fullness of the Kingdom of God in our world. Amen.