1st Sunday in Advent
Good morning every one, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, every time we come to Church, we recall the promise that God made to His people namely sending His Only Son to save us all and every time we come to Church, we recall the promise of Christ our Lord namely He would come again in an unexpected time and every time we come to Church we prepare ourselves to Welcome the Lord our God.
One day a priest was assigned to a new parish and when he got there, he learned that some of the people had alcohol challenge. They came to church drunk and he tried his best to help them but nothing happened. Then one day he showed to the people a clear glass with a piece of liver in it and then he said to them, “now I am going to pour some alcohol in it and you will see what is going to happen to the liver”. When people saw what was happening to the liver, they were all terrified. Then one man got up and said, “ Father, thank you for teaching a good lesion. On behalf of this community, I promise that we will never eat liver again”.
Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates the first Sunday of Advent. Advent means “coming” and in this season, we prepare for the coming of Christ. One of the ways we prepare for His coming is by making an advent wreath and lighting its candles to remind us of the gifts Christ brings to the world.
The Advent wreath includes many symbols to help us think about Christ and His gifts. The wreath itself is in the shape of a circle. A circle has no end. This reminds us that there is no beginning and no end to God and that God’s love and caring are forever.
The light from the candles, which will grow stronger and stronger each Sunday in Advent, reminds us that Christ is the light of the world and He is coming to the world as His promised before His ascension into heaven.
Today’s we light the candle of hope. The people of Israel hoped in God’s promises and were not disappointed. Again and again, God delivered His chosen people from their enemies. We too in our every day life have the same experience. Though we go away from God, He protects us from bad and gives us life. This happens in Christ our Lord.
Last century, in 1947 a shepherd while looking for his lost sheep stumbled into a cave and found so many clay jars that contained information regarding the old Jewish community called the essence. They were spiritual people who separated themselves from Jerusalem into the wilderness in order to follow closely the commandments of the Lord. They were apocalyptic people. Yes, they focused on the final coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In order to welcome the Lord, they spent time in prayer and fasting. They were not living in fear but in joy because they prepared themselves well to welcome the Lord. They lived in community sharing with one another. Yes, they learned the importance of giving and forgiving.
As people of hope and apocalyptic people we are also asked to give and forgive others and thus prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord. The lord is coming so let us welcome Him with stretched out hands. He is coming to take us with Him so that where He our Master is there we will also be. So let us welcome Him with our preparation. Amen.
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