Welcome to Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year in the church. What is Advent and why is it the beginning of our liturgical year? Advent is a time of preparation as we await the coming of the Lord. It is a time for us to renew in our hearts the faith that we profess each week during the creed. During a long year we all have trials that pull us away from our faith. Advent is a time to come back to that faith in a new and more energetic way.
We saw this past week our national feast of Thanksgiving where we come together as family and friends to give thanks for the blessings which we have been given during the last year. Then of course our consumer culture takes over and we are told the Christmas season has begun, it used to wait until Friday but now it all begins by Thursday afternoon. Some people may not even clean up from the Thanksgiving feast before the retail season begins.
If you notice at the end of the parade Santa Claus comes down to herald in a new season, for the retail industry that season is Christmas. For the Christian world that season should be Advent. This season of preparation is for the coming of our Lord, one of the most Holy days of the Year. This preparation should include prayer, penance and reconciliation. This will help us become more in tune with what Christ asks of us.
You would think that it should be a joyous season not only in our lives, but in the readings as well. Then why are the readings today talking about the end of times? The first two weeks of Advent continue the apocalyptic theme we have been listening to over the last few weeks. It is so while we want to prepare the celebration of the first coming of our Lord, we should also be preparing in our hearts and minds for the second coming of our Lord. We need as Jesus reminds his disciples to be vigilant in our faith. “So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
This is a time as is Lent for us to show repentance and reconciliation with our faith and with our church. This is because as Christians Saint Paul reminds us the we are children of the light not the darkness. We get to see the darkness all around us in our daily lives. We could see some of this happening soon after we were all giving thanks for our blessings as we do every year. People getting mad that the deal they wanted is no longer available or they got there too late and there are no more of what they were looking for in stock. Since in our consumeristic culture “Black Friday” has now extended to a whole month we are less likely to see the stampedes from the past when stores open their doors for the shopping season to begin.
In our culture today we all can fall into the trap of wanting the latest and greatest thing that has come about. In reality what we need to see more around us is what is actually being portrayed at Christmas. As we begin to work our way through Advent let us remember that the reason for the season is actually two fold. The first being we need to be vigilant and prepared for the second coming of the Lord, for as Isaiah reminds us when this happens nations will no longer be fighting nations because the Lord will be coming to judge the nations.
Are we ready to be judged by our Lord or are we too busy judging others? This is a problem I suffer from on more than occasional day. I tend to drive a lot during my work week and in doing so I get very judgmental about those around me on the road. It is usually not a pleasant judgment I am handing out either. Karen reminds me on occasion that I don’t know what is going on in their lives that may be causing them to behave in that manner, so I should give them a break. This is true in all instances, whether it is while we are behind the wheel or in any interaction we have with others.
This way of preparing is not something which will help us look toward the second coming. We need to be prepared as Saint Paul reminds us; “Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in rivalry and jealousy.” We are reminded throughout this season by our society that it is good to be nice to others. While this is certainly true at this time of year, it is not restricted to just from Thanksgiving to Christmas. It is for the entire year, day after day. There are many here who practice this throughout the year, but we will all be tested at times based on how someone may interact with us.
Being prepared to handle these situations all the time takes not only practice, but also a belief in something that is bigger than us. We as Christians believe this is eternal life with Christ that we should all be striving for. While there is nothing we have done or can do to earn this eternal life, there is plenty that we can do to separate ourselves from eternal life.
So, as we begin Advent let us spend time in prayer to help us prepare to be vigilant and to be children of the light. The nice thing about being prepared in this way allows us to not only help keep us from straying too far away for the path Christ wants us to walk, it also generally allows us to be more joy filled throughout the day and the year. This joy can be contagious which will allow us to bring people back to the faith which Christ is asking us to do.