Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 29, 2009 - First Sunday of Advent
[Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:12 - 4:2; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36]The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah. [Jeremiah] And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. [Luke]
When the First Sunday of Advent is celebrated on the Sunday immediately after Thanksgiving and the shopping frenzy that begins the "holiday" season, it is not easy to turn one's mind and heart to the fact that the Church is beginning a new liturgical year! Advent becomes almost an afterthought with only the purple vestments and endless singing of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!" Attention becomes focused on surviving till the "real" New Year's Day! I offer here a humble plea for an "intentional" Advent instead of an "accidental" one. The Word of God for today offers a sweeping vision that begins with God's initial promise to the Chosen People and ends with the Second Coming of Jesus, who is the fulfillment of that promise. This may be asking too much of us mere mortals in our hectic secular "holiday season" to wrap our minds and hearts around. If we can focus on the birth of Jesus as represented in that crib set that we are about to bring out from the attic or closet where it has been in darkness since last Christmas, we may be doing all we can. But that very act of setting up the crib set offers a moment of reflection. We are not merely celebrating an historical event, we are celebrating a present event with great implications for our future! As we place each figure in the scene, we can imagine ourselves in its place. Here in South Texas and in other Hispanic cultural centers, the celebration of the Posadas, a reenactment of the journey of Joseph and pregnant Mary to Bethlehem, is another way to enter into the event. The richness of the Advent season lies before us in scripture, crib sets, Jesse Trees, hymns and other signs. It is easy to let it become simply "accidental" in the midst of so many other concerns. We are offered the chance each year to be "intentional" about the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Could this be the year we really do it? AMEN
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