Advent is here!

This weekend we begin our short season of Advent, as we prepare for the advent or the coming of our Lord, guided as always by our Sunday readings. We prepare, of course, for Jesus’ coming to us at Christmas; what is usually called the first coming of Christ. We should also think of His second or final coming at the end of time or, as we say in the Creed at Mass: “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” Many spiritual writers such as St. Bernard also reflect that in between this first coming at Christmas and last coming at the end of time, Jesus in fact comes to us in many ways each and every day: in prayer, in people and events, in the Sacred Scriptures and, of course, in the Eucharist. Advent then, is very much a time when we focus on Jesus’ coming to us in all these ways and, of course, His presence among us at every time and in every moment of our lives. 

An image that may help us is to see Advent as very much like a journey. As with any good journey, we not only have a final destination in mind (the coming of Jesus and our encounter with him); but we also use a map (or even a GPS) to guide us on our way there. Advent does indeed follow a route or a plan and so it has a structure for each Sunday to help us to journey well. The theme or guide for this weekend, the first Sunday of Advent is to watch and wait for the Lord. In the second week of Advent we think of John the Baptist and his mission to prepare a way for the Lord. Our third week places before us the great and important attitude that every Christian is called to adopt, namely an attitude of joy. We rejoice for the Lord is coming, he is near to us. In our fourth and final week, we celebrate the annunciation of the good news that God is indeed with us. This is true not just at Christmas, but for every moment of our life.

How do our readings for the First Sunday in Advent help us to watch and wait for the Lord? Many of us would welcome some help with this, as watching and certainly waiting are not strengths that we enjoy! Yet, watching and waiting though are crucial for us as Christians.

The First Reading (Isaiah 63) is a beautiful song of sighing and yearning for the “return” of God to His people as it recalls all the wonderful things that God has done. This yearning is also echoed in our Psalm (Psalm 80). But to receive God when he comes, we must acknowledge our faults and failings and allow ourselves to be molded by God once more, as with the clay in the hands of the potter. We see then that watching and waiting are not a case of sitting around, twiddling our thumbs. Instead, the Lord asks us to have a disposition of active waiting, that is to be reflective and awake, preparing for the Lord to come.

In the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 1:3-9), St. Paul reminds us that God has given us many graces or gifts to help us be watchful and awake. We have been “enriched” in so many ways; in fact, we are “not lacking in any spiritual gift.” So, there are no excuses then! These gifts would include the Eucharist, the sacraments (especially perhaps that wonderful grace and reality check of Reconciliation), prayer, scripture and yes, even other people. 
I love St. Mark’s Gospel because he is so direct: no mincing of words. In our gospel this Sunday (Mark 13:33-37) Jesus is preparing for his passion and death and so he instructs his disciples: “Be watchful … Be alert!” We, like them, must be good servants or stewards; always waiting and being ready for the return of our Lord whenever that might be. 

This time of year is so very busy and this year we have many anxieties too with the ongoing pandemic. The Church wisely gives us this special season of Advent to help us in all this busyness to prepare for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us not be so busy or anxious that we are totally distracted. Instead, let us use this time well: let us journey through Advent well and let us prepare well so that as the Lord comes to us, we may have hearts and minds open and ready to welcome him. Let our prayer be the same one as the very first Christians: “Come, Lord Jesus!”