Word to the Wise
Saturday, November 26, 2016 - Saturday in the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rev 22:1-7 and Luke 21:34-36]SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2016 SATURDAY IN THE THIRTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Revelation 22:1-7 and Luke 21:34-36] "Behold, I am coming soon." [Revelation] The liturgical year ends today, but time does not. Tomorrow will be the First Sunday of Advent and the Sunday and Weekday cycles of scripture will once again begin the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Sundays will move to Cycle A and Weekdays will move to Year I. Such an arrangement would not have occurred to the author of the Book of Revelation. He was confident that the end of time, not the end of the "liturgical year" was near. Chapter 22 of the Book of Revelation has the refrain -" Behold, I am coming soon "- repeated several times. The Gospel of Luke today exhorts the faithful not to be caught by surprise by "that day." Most of us are generally caught up in "the anxieties of daily life," and the surprise is that it's already the First Sunday of Advent. Of course the earlier appearance of Christmas decorations may have alerted us somewhat. That could lead to an ironic use of the refrain. Jesus was not referring to Christmas! There is a kind of "fatigue" that can set in with the annual renewal of the story of Jesus in the scriptures as presented in the liturgy. We note the change in the color of vestments and the appearance of an Advent wreath in church. We go, suddenly it seems, from the second coming to the first. Yet, our baptism commits us to preaching that story. The Gospel warms us not to succumb to that "fatigue." We preaching both "comings" of the Lord and try to be alert as we can! AMEN