Homily for Advent - 1st Sunday Year B 2017-2018
Isaiah 63:16-17;64:1.3-8; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37
Introduction
Tailgating parties – a uniquely American tradition of preparing for the game by celebrating, sometimes for hours before the actual game.
Well, we Catholics have some tailgating of our own. Before the two main highlights of our Church Calendar, that is Christmas and Easter, we put on a tailgate party of sorts. The Season of Lent is the Catholic way of tailgating for Easter, while the Season of Advent, which we begin today, is the Catholic way of tailgating for Christmas. But unlike sports tail-gating, Lent and Advent are sober, restrained, even penitential kinds of preparation. And so what is Advent for us?
Scripture and Theology
Advent celebrates the two comings of Jesus: the first coming of Jesus at Christmas as well as his second coming. That is why we begin Advent today, not by hearing about the first coming of Jesus at Christmas, but by hearing about the end-times, when Jesus will come again.
In today's gospel passage, Jesus says: "Be watchful! Be alert! "You do not know when the time will come." Like the people of Israel waited for the Messiah to come the first time, we Christians wait for him to come again. That is why Jesus compares himself to a man travelling abroad, leaving “his servants in charge, each with his own work.” That is exactly what Jesus did when he returned to the Father on Ascension Day. He left his work in the hands of the Church. He left a job for each of us to do, some as deacons, priests and bishops, others are mothers, fathers and single lay people, others still as religious men and women. We must be found doing something useful, when Jesus returns, “whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.”
I learned something about waiting when I was growing up. When my parents separated, being the oldest, I often had to help look after my three siblings, when my mother went on errands or when she went to work. At first, like any self-respecting teenager, I chose not do what my mom asked me to do; rather, I played the whole day, bossed my siblings around and each day invented new ways to be naughty. I would then try to guess when mom might be returning and get ready for her by destroying all evidence of my mischief.
Now this strategy this worked sometimes, but sometimes it did not. And I soon realized that playing Russian roulette in this way required way too much energy and was way too stressful. I realized that it was much easier simply to do my chores and do the right thing always. That way, I did not have to worry if mom came back earlier than usual. And so, besides the kudos she gave me for finding everything in order, I received another reward for being good, which is, that I spent my time watching and waiting with peace of mind.
The season Advent is therefore a mock exercise of the waiting that we must do throughout our lives. We are given four weeks of Advent, not just to prepare for Christmas, but in doing so to hone our skills in preparing for the final coming of the Lord on the Last Day.
Christian Life
Of course none of us likes to wait. We don't like waiting at the doctor’s office or at the DMV office; we don’t like waiting in traffic or in line at the Black Friday sales; we don't like waiting to get on to a plane as well as to get off the plane. We are often in a hurry and impatient. We are like the children who keep shouting from the back seat “Are we there yet? Are we there yet.”
That is why it is unfortunate that today, even among us Catholics, we completely skip over Advent. We move from Thanksgiving straight on to Christmas. Unlike the children who ask "are we there yet?" we don't even ask, we simply declare, "we are already there." It is for this very reason, the fact that as a society we are impatient, that we need the season of Advent, a season that is all about waiting without excitement, without drama.
That is not to say that Advent waiting must be idle. Like the servants in the gospel story, our waiting must be actively doing something for the Kingdom. But it is a kind of activity that does not jettison Advent things and replace them with Christmas things. If we want to enter into the true Christmas spirit, we have to celebrate Advent, which prepares us not only for Christmas, for the final coming of the Lord as well – for we are not there yet.
What kind of waiting and preparing must we then do during Advent?
First, we have all the practical preparations to consider. Where am I having Christmas dinner this year, grandma’s or the in-laws? What about that Christmas shopping list – where can I find that latest gadget for my nieces and nephews and I might add, for my favourite priest? And the decorations – they are not going to get put up by themselves, are they? Yes, we need to do all these things – but is this really the extent of our preparations for the coming of the Lord, both at Christmas and when he comes again?
The season of Advent, actually some symbols that we could use to help remind us of the waiting that we must do. These symbols are not as glamorous as the Christmas ones, but nobody ever said that waiting is glamorous.
- There is the Advent wreath, the empty manger and the Jesse tree, all pointing to the waiting and watching for the birth of the Lord.
- We also have some customs for the feast of St. Nicholas on December 6, the feast of St. Lucy on December 13th and of course the feasts of Our Lady on December 8 and on December 12.
- Even at Mass, you will notice a few Advent things: the vestments are the colour purple, we don’t sing the Gloria, and the wreath has five candles which we keep lighting one by one until Christmas Day when we light the big white candle in the middle.
And yet, as important as these external signs and symbols of Advent are, even more important is the preparation we make to our personal spiritual lives.
- Although Advent is not strictly speaking a penitential season like Lent, yet any waiting for the Lord must involve some conversion on our part. We do this best when we examine our souls to check the health of our relationship with God, with one another and with our very selves. And if there is something terribly amiss, we go to confession and therefore get clean as we wait for the Lord’s coming – for we are not there yet.
- Many parishes also hold parish missions and Advent days of prayer and study – we go to them, to be nourished by God’s Word to prepare us for his coming, for we are not there yet.
- And then of course we must not think about ourselves, but of others as well. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy are always there to remind us of how to prepare ourselves for the Lord's coming, as we take care of the material and spiritual needs of our brothers and sisters.
Conclusion
But the watching and waiting we do during Advent is only practice, dress-rehearsal. Learning to prepare well for Christmas teaches us how to prepare for when the Lord will call us, and for when he will return. That long term waiting is something we do all our lives, and not just during the Advent season.
On Christmas Eve, perhaps after going to Mass, ask yourself: Have I tailgated, waited for Christmas with the enthusiasm of the child who keeps asking “are we there yet?” but also with the patience and hope of the adult Christian who knows that we are not yet there and must wait and watch faithfully and patiently, so that when the Lord returns, he must find us at work.
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