First Sunday in Advent, December 3,2006

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-16. Psalm 25:4-5,8-9,10.14. I Thessalonians 3:12-4:2. Luke 21:25-28,34-36. Perhaps, more than any other person in the world at any time in the history of salvation, Mary is the woman who shows us the way to enter this year's new liturgical year and this Advent 2006. All of us are called to renew and refresh our longing for the coming of the Lord and to grow each day in our relationship with Jesus the Messiah. Who better than the Mother of the Messiah could help us to grow in our faith and our love for the Son of God? She herself embraced each day of her pregnancy with new feelings and longings.Her expectations of seeing the coming of her child deepened with the passage of the months. Imagine her face beaming with joy and love as she, for the first time, saw her baby who, in turn, looked up to her. She was the first to see the Word become flesh and for him she was the first to be seen since she was his mother. No one has ever contested this event in the history of humankind. She alone is the mother of Jesus Christ. Just as every mother experiences something of the divine in giving birth to a child, this Mother Mary had a unique experience as a Virgin-Mother. It was St. Paul who reflected in a pastoral and theological manner on what this coming of the Lord means: "but when the designated time had come, God sent forth his son born of a woman, born under the law to deliver from the law those who were subjected to it, so that we might receive our status as adopted sons (and daughters) of God." (Galatians 4:4-5). Within this framework of God's plan and salvation history, we can renew ourselves by journeying with Mary this woman of faith and courage; we can through our faith of the heart call upon the Holy Spirit to refresh and renew us with vigor, enthusiasm and joy. Advent is a time for praying for our transformation into the person of Jesus who was born of Mary for our salvation. Today's readings focus on another coming of the Lord in his Parousia, the Greek word for Advent, only here it means the Second Coming at the end of time. Just as in yesterday's readings the tremendous signs of the endtime are graphically narrated by Luke, but there is also advice and guidance given by Jesus who is the proclaimer of what is to happen. Jesus is telling us to stand attentive to these signs and also to listen to his words. Our salvation is near at hand and we are to seize the day (Carpe Diem) and not allow the day to seize us with personal anxiety, fear, and selfishness. We are not to be captured by surprise. Watchfulness and prayer are the way to renewal and refreshment this Advent. We wait attentively for the Coming of the Lord. The suffering and emotive prophet Jeremiah tells us that God will fulfill the promises made through the covenant of the heart, namely, that a just shoot shall spring from David and that Jerusalem will be named the Justice of the Lord. We can see this as symbolic of the Messiah and the Church at worship during the Advent liturgies. Jesus is the Tsadiq the Holy Just One of the Lord as Paul has indicated in Galatians. Our Psalm and its response are a perfect faith reflection of what the readings are saying to us this first day of Advent. Our souls are lifted up to the Lord: "To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul"...for you, O God, are my savior, and for you I wait all the day."... "All the paths of the Lord are kindness and constancy"..."The friendship of the Lord is with those who revere him and his covenant." Let us return often this Advent to the Psalm response and it verses. These prayers are carefully chosen to give us prayer from the heart. They join the readings during this season of Advent just as they do throughout the year. But here even moreso since they are the most ancient among the liturgical texts in the Masses of Advent. The second prayer for today offers us a beautiful prayerful conclusion: "O God, increase our longing for Christ our Savior and give us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of his coming may find us rejoicing in his presence and welcoming the light of truth. Amen."