28 November 2021 Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
1st Sunday in Advent
ADVENT SPIRITUALITY
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap” (Luke 21:34)
In Christian eschatological terms ADVENT is a time to prepare ourselves for Our Lord’s threefold coming; in history, mystery and majesty.
- In ‘History’ Lord’s coming into history in the historic person of Jesus of Nazareth from the lineage of David. The theme of today’s first reading is his coming in history (Jer. 33:14-16), ‘I will raise up for David a just shoot; he shall do what is just and right in the land’ (v.15).
- In ‘Mystery’; Lord’s coming in the mystery of incarnation (word becoming flesh) which is the true spirit of the Christmas season. In ‘Majesty’; Lord’s coming in majesty on His second coming, Parousia.
- In Majesty; is the theme of today’s gospel (Luke 21:25-28, 34-36) is His coming in majesty, ‘And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and glory’ (Luke 21:27).
Popular understanding of advent is about 25 days of liturgical and spiritual preparation for Christmas. Today’s Liturgy of the word challenges us to look at our own days and years on this earth as time of preparation for Lord’s coming, the whole life-term could be seen as advent. This is advent spirituality.
Advent season invites all of us to be people of advent. Today’s gospel reminds us of at least two important characteristics of an advent person, namely, (1) Vigilance & (2) Hope.
(1) VIGILANCE: Vigilance as the most important advent discipline. “Be always on vigilance, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man (Lk 21:36).” Vigilance is an action of the present. Vigilance as an advent trait values preciousness and salvific value of time.
Time is a non-renewable resource in the day today life of everybody. The moments that just passed in our lives cannot be regained anymore! There are people around who can teach us about the preciousness of life. For example, a mother who has given birth to a premature child can well explain the value of a month or two lovers waiting to see each other could explain the value of hours or an accident-survivor the value of a second and or an Olympic athlete who lost gold medal in one tenth of a second the value of a millisecond. If so, how precious shall time be in relation to your salvation? Therefore, live your present moments with eternal significance. This is the core reminder of Advent season.
Live every moment of present life with an eternal significance because yesterday is only a history and tomorrow is only a mystery, but today is a ‘Present from God’, a gift. Today is important because today gives you two possibilities in terms of your salvation; (1) to redefine your past and (2) to define your future! You can do both only in the present. Therefore, the best way for us to prepare for the future (salvation) is to live each moment of present life with eternal significance.
(2) HOPE: An advent person is a hopeful person. On the fourth Sunday in advent the candle of hope will be lit (today candle of peace). Jesus reminds his disciples to stand erect and raise heads on the day of his glorious coming! “Standing erect” and “raising head” are gestures of hope and confidence. On the day of the second of Our Lord (His coming in majesty) we will be able to stand erect and raise our heads if we have the spirit of advent in our lives, always prepared. The signs of the glorious coming of Christ (signs in Sun, Moon, Stars and roaring of the sea) do not frighten us. Because after a time of tribulation there is redemption for the children of God. Therefore, live a life of hope and vigilance by doing everything with an eternal significance.
Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism speaks about peoples’ obsession with the future in a sarcastic way, “humanity does not live in the present because of anxiety over future. As a result, they fail to live both in the present and future”. ‘Future orientation’ and planning is a common trait of the present generation. People plan their future with yearly, monthly and daily planners. Parents plan for the college education of their children from birth! Employers plan for their retired life from the first day of work! Planning is good in the modern lifestyle. Otherwise lives would be chaotic in hectic and busy modern lives. There is nothing wrong in being futuristic. But let us be aware that “obsession with the future” is one of the negative traits with the future orientation and planning of the people of our time. It is a habit of living in the future without knowing what is happening at present.
Be an “Advent Person” by living in Vigilance and Hope. Amen.