First Sunday of Advent 2024

Luke 21:25-36

Rev. Neli Miranda 

Today, we celebrate the first Sunday of the Advent season, a time that precedes the Christmas celebration and fills our hearts with joyful anticipation for the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year and calls us to prepare ourselves for a new cycle of discipleship. The four weeks of Advent are a guiding path, preparing us to receive the visitation of God in Jesus.

The term “Advent” is derived from the Latin word “Adventus,” meaning “coming or arrival,” translated from the Greek term “Parousia,” found in the New Testament to signify the Second Coming of Christ. In our Christian faith, we interpret the essence of Advent across three distinct dimensions: his coming in history in the first century, his continuous arrival into the hearts of his disciples, and his expected, glorious Second coming.

The first coming of Jesus took place in Bethlehem, in a humble place, where his mother and father found shelter; it was there that the glory of God rested in a manger. Thus, the first Christmas took place not in a palace or a church, but in a manger among those who welcomed the needy of the world. Today, the continuous Advent continues to touch those who embrace life, those who open their doors to welcome Jesus through those in need.  Finally, looking forward with hope, we await the glorious Advent when “the Son of Man [Jesus himself] comes in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27), marking the full realization of the Kingdom of God on Earth, as inaugurated in Jesus’ proclamation.

Today, as disciples of Jesus, we live in the tension of the “already but not yet,” signifying our active participation in the Kingdom of God initiated by Jesus, a realm that will reach its full expression in his Second Coming. We are already in the Kingdom of God, living and promoting the values of justice and peace as we proclaim its fullness with hope. Therefore, each Advent season, we become prophets of hope, proclaiming the already presence of God among us and a promising future for all creation.

Dear sisters and brothers, how should we observe the season of Advent? Firstly, Advent is a period of active anticipation; therefore, as we pray, read the word of God, and meditate upon it, we rekindle our hope. This hope compels us to make present the Kingdom of God through our actions of justice. Thus, during Advent, we are called to open our doors to those in need, to embody justice. By practicing justice, we herald the Advent season and invite God’s presence into our midst.  What actions do we intend to take this Advent to invite God’s presence among us?

May Jesus lead us as we live this time of great expectation. Let us prepare a space in our hearts and communities to welcome the arrival of a new child among us. Amen.