1st Sunday of Advent
Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know the time will come. (Mark 13:33)
Jesus is speaking about the second coming, when he will return in victory as promised, with angels and saints. It is described in the Revelation and Saint Mark’s Gospel. The day’s liturgy calls us to prepare not only for Christmas but for the second coming in the glory of the Parousia.
Watching and being alert is something we should always be doing. It is essential for the Advent. Jesus will come in the Eucharist and on this first Sunday of Advent. Jesus is always with us. He is our friend. He is in our heart and our mind, in our soul. He loves us and helps us listen to him and walk with Jesus. He will be especially with us as we prepare for his coming in grace and in the Eucharist of Christmas.
The first reading of the day reminds us God is our Father. This is an unusual statement. Jesus is the potter, and we are the clay. Paul says he means that Jesus gives us strength and grace to follow him, to do what he does so that we are Christians, i.e., like Jesus, following his example.
In the Corinthian epistle, Paul writes that Christ will keep us firm to the end. God is faithful, and we are called to fellowship with Jesus Christ. In his gospel, John says Jesus calls us friends. The Eucharist is an invitation to share bread and wine transformed into the living body and blood of Jesus. It is the source and summit of the Christian life.
Jesus Christ comes in the Eucharist of Christmas and every day. He gives himself for us and asks us to give ourselves to our friends and enemies.
Let Us Pray:
Father, Advent reminds us that Jesus comes to us in this beautiful month. Jesus will come for us with great joy and victory. He will come to us in the celebration of each Eucharist. May we be with him forever.
