We now begin a new liturgical year as we begin Advent season. Happy new liturgical year, Cycle B!
Though it is now a new liturgical year, Advent season is like days before
new year’s day, because it is the preparatory season for the coming of the
incarnated Christ to us.
As it gets closer to new year’s day, we prepare for the arrival of new year,
by cleaning our houses and cooking for special dinner and so forth. Likewise,
during Advent season, which precedes Christmas season, we prepare for the
arrival (adventus) of Christ, which had been prophesized under the old
covenant (during the Old Testament period).
God had already made up His mind to send His Son, the Christ, as early as
the time of the fall of Adam and Eve. Just before evicting them from Eden, God said
to Satan in serpent:
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and
between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you
strike at their heel (Genesis 3:15).
The woman in the above statement of God is referred to “new Eve”, Mary,
whom God had predestined to make as the mother of His Son by making her the
Immaculate Conception so that Christ can be incarnated and born totally free
from any effect of the Original Sin (Ineffabilis Deus). The incarnated Christ has to have the flesh
not tainted by the Original Sin because he is sent to us as the ultimate
Paschal Lamb (Exodus 12:5), the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
(John 1:29).
Then Isaiah prophesized to Ahaz, king of Judah, who stubbornly refused to
trust God:
Lord himself will give you a sign; the virgin is with
child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).
Around that time, through Micah, God prophesized that the incarnated Christ
would be born in Bethlehem:
But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathaha, least among the clans
of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose
origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore the Lord will give them
up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, then the rest of
his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. He shall take his place as
shepherd by the strength of the Lord, by the majestic name of the Lord, his
God; and they shall dwell securely, for now his greatness shall reach to the
ends of the earth: he shall be peace (Micah 5:1-4a).
These prophesies of the birth of the incarnated Christ were believed to
have been made during the 8th century BC. What had been known since
that time was that the incarnated Christ would be born of the virgin in
Bethlehem. But nothing had been prophesized as to when this would happen.
Nobody had known when the incarnated Christ would be born of the virgin (הָעַלְמָ֗ה/haalmah)
in Bethlehem. This unknownness of the day and the time of the incarnated Christ’s
birth corresponds with that of the second coming of Christ. In regard to his
return at the end of the age, Jesus said:
And then they will see “the Son of Man coming in the
clouds” with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and
gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of
the sky. Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and
sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see
these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you,
this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven
and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or
hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father (Mark 13:26-32).
This is why we use a Gospel narrative about how we should be prepared for
Christ’s return (second coming) for First Sunday of Advent. And for Cycle B,
the Gospel Reading is drawn from Mark 13:33-37.
So, Jesus said:
Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time
will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his
servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the
watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight, sleeping. What I say to you, I say to
all:“Watch!” (Mark 13:33-37).
In the above statement, Jesus emphasizes watchfulness and alertness,
because his return to the earth at the end of the age can stealth. He
juxtaposes his time in heaven, from the time of Ascension until Parousia to a
man traveling abroad, being away from his house, trusting his servants to take
care of the house and to have his gatekeeper on the watch.
We are, indeed, Christ’s servants, being charged to care for his Church on
earth and remain watchful for his return, until his Parousia. This is reflected
in the Gospel Reading of Saturday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
of the previous liturgical year (Luke 21:34-36) to prepare for the coming of
Christ the King of the Universe. And
now, as we begin a new liturgical year and our preparation to welcome the incarnated
Christ in our hearts for Christmas, we apply the same principle of
watchfulness, because the day and the time of his first coming was never
prophesized and therefore unknown.
In fact, the incarnated Christ came to this world unexpectedly and stealthily,
only made known to the shepherd who stayed watchful over their sheep (Luke
2:1-20). But imagine if the shepherd were not awake and watchful. They could
have missed to notice the birth of the incarnated Christ in Jesus.
Note how Jesus emphasizes watchfulness with these words: βλέπω(blepo) to
watch (Mark 13:33), ἀγρυπνέω(agrupneo) not to sleep (Mark 13:33), γρηγορέω(gregoreo)
be awake, be watchful (Mark 13:34, 35, 37).
On this Gospel passage, Pope Francis said:
If we ask Jesus to come close to us, we will train
ourselves to be watchful. Today Mark’s Gospel presented us with the end of
Jesus’ final address to his disciples, which can be summed up in two words: “Be
watchful!” The Lord repeats these words four times in five verses (cf. Mk
13:33-35.37). It is important to remain watchful, because one great mistake in
life is to get absorbed in a thousand things and not to notice God. Saint
Augustine said: “Timeo Iesum transeuntem” (Sermons, 88, 14, 13), “I fear that Jesus
will pass by me unnoticed”. Caught up in our own daily concerns (how well we
know this!), and distracted by so many vain things, we risk losing sight of
what is essential. That is why today the Lord repeats: “To all, I say: be
watchful!” (Mk 13:37). Be watchful, attentive (Homily, First Sunday of Advent, B,
November 29, 2020).
Quoting St. Augustine’s words, Timeo Iesum transeuntem, Pope Francis
calls us not to let the noises of the world in December compromise our
watchfulness and vigilance for the arrival of the incarnated Christ, as we are
afraid of being unnoticed of his coming at an unknown time.
We may say, we know when the incarnated Christ is coming as it is December
25. But the truth is that we really do not know exactly when the incarnated
Christ came as the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The scripture only tells that
it was when Caesar Augustus reigned the Roman Empire and Quirinius was Roman
governor of Syria (Luke 2:1-2). The Solemn Feast of the Nativity of the Lord
was placed on December 25 to replace the feast of the birth of Sol Invictus,
Roman sun deity. So, who really knows exactly when the incarnated Christ will
come to our hearts this year. Not to be unnoticed of his arrival, we must
remain watchful throughout Advent Season. We must keep ourselves from being
distracted by intensifying commercialism and consumerism for secularized “X’mas”
in order to truly watchful for Christ’s coming.
The First Reading (Isaiah 63:16b-17,19b;64:2-7) is a prayer
of the Israelites during their captivity in Babylon, lamenting their loss of
Jerusalem and repenting their sins against God and placing their hope for His
mercy on them. The reading is a voice out of the spiritual darkness in Babylon,
away from Jerusalem, crying out to God for His mercy with the hope to be
delivered back to Jerusalem. Having this reading to begin Advent Season, we are
called to repent our sins as we prepare ourselves to welcome the incarnated
Christ’s arrival in our hearts. Remember, Advent is a penitential season, as
its liturgical color, purple, indicates.
In the First Reading of the Second Sunday of Advent (Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11),
we are again reminded to repent and make our hearts clear of sins through the
Sacrament of Reconciliation, to make the path of Christ’s coming straight. We
cannot leave the path crooked with our sins.
While the Gospel Reading (Mark 13:33-37) calls us to
stay watchful for the coming of the incarnated Christ, as we do so for his
second coming, the First Reading (Isaiah 63:16b-17,19b;64:2-7) calls us to
prepare our hearts to make them suitable for the incarnated Christ to enter and
dwell and grow, by having our sins absorbed through the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. This preparation also means to make the path of his coming
straight, as we straighten our hearts with purity.
The Second Reading (1 Corinthians 1:3-9) describes benefits
of receiving Christ in our hearts. Through him, we receive spiritual gifts to
see him in his eschatological revelation and strength to stand firm for his
judgement. And he is coming to call us in the fellowship with him. In other
words, the Second Reading calls us to keep our faith in Christ, who is coming, to
be strong enough the stay and stand firmly watchful and have sufficient
spiritual gifts to recognize him as he appears.
So repent (First Reading), believe (Second Reading),
and be watchful (Gospel Reading), as we begin our Advent preparation to see the
incarnated Christ arriving and welcome him in our clean hearts for the
fellowship with him and to stay strong until his Parousia.
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