December 1^st 2013. FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Gospel: Matthew 24:37-44

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

Gospel                           Matthew 24:37-44

Jesus said to his disciples: 'As it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.

'So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary  . . . . During the Advent Season, we prepare for the coming of the Lord. He comes to us in the Incarnation; he comes to us at the end of time; but he also comes to us every day. The Gospel speaks of being ready for these various comings of the Lord. In what sort of state will we find ourselves when the Lord comes? Will it be like the days of Noah when people continued to satisfy their appetites and affections until they were all swept away with the flood? What is my priority in life? Am I totally caught up in this world, seeking to please my senses, gratifying myself with transient relationships? All of those things will be swept away by the Lord when he comes. He comes for that which is noble and great in us, and he comes to us every day, sometimes in the upheavals and distresses of life. If we are ready for him, then we will be transformed by those upheavals, moulded and groomed so that we begin to see the beauty and profundity of our existence. If we are not prepared for the inbreaking of the Lord into our existence, then we will become frustrated and bitter by the repeated discovery that life does not conform to my wishes and whims. We must recognize that it is he - not us - who is the master of our existence! We must make our house beautiful so that this wonderful guest can enter peacefully!

When the Lord comes, will be find ourselves merely satisfying our appetites and affections?

With this Gospel reading from Matthew we begin the Season of Advent, preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord. We can speak of three “Advents” of the Lord. The first is the coming of the Lord in the Incarnation; the second is at the end of time; and the third is the Lord’s coming to us in the present. This Gospel reading for Sunday speaks of the final coming of the Lord, but the passage is also highly relevant for our lives in the present. When we fail to understand the final destination of things, those things can lose their meaning and purpose. What will the end of our existence be like? It will be like the days of Noah, the Gospel tells us. Things will be utterly transformed, but we will find ourselves doing the things we always did, eating, drinking and taking spouses. But, you might ask, what’s the harm of eating and drinking and taking spouses? There is nothing wrong with these things in themselves. The problem is when we live for our appetites and affections. These things are important, but I am challenged to live without constantly thinking of my satisfaction. St Paul tells us to be prepared to detach ourselves from this passing world. I can go through life thinking that food, drink and relationships are the ultimate meaning of my existence, or I can live in the belief that life is heading towards something else altogether.

I must govern my appetites instead of being governed by them

Appetites and relationships must be viewed as being secondary to other things that have a much greater priority in life. Christians value fasting, temperance and sobriety for precisely this motive of keeping our appetites in their proper place. We must learn to govern our appetites instead of being governed by them, because the satisfaction of our appetites does not lead us to the true meaning of our existence. In the reading, people continued to be driven by their appetites until the flood came and swept everything away. So it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. The times are changing. The world is heading towards a profound transformation and I am too busy satisfying my stomach, satisfying my need for affectivity! But these things are not the goal of my life! They will be swept away at the coming of the Lord because I am greater than my appetites and my sentiments. In our world, people are often wholly dominated by the world of the senses. The text speaks in the plural of people taking husbands and wives. This is mirrored in our world where people change partners continually.  Our preoccupation with appetites and transient relationships has reduced our society to an animal-like state, and we lose awareness of the fact that we are much greater and much nobler than these things. It is for these greater and nobler things that the Son of Man comes.

We must live in readiness for the coming of the Lord. This coming is already foreshadowed in the upheavals and changes of our daily lives

The passage goes on, “It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Of two men in the fields, one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.” This description of the men working and the women preparing the food is stereotypical without doubt, but the issue is not the task that each person is doing: the issue is the way in which they were doing it. In both cases, the same job is being done, but one person is swept away and the other is left. If we live in readiness for the coming of the Lord, then we are not living for things that ultimately are of no consequence. Every day we are visited by changes and transformations, upheavals and distress. If we are focused on the meaning and finality of life, then we will be groomed and shaped by these upheavals. We will be transformed by the novelty and surprises of life, learning to live in a new way, leaving the old things behind us. But often when upheavals come, we remain stuck in the same old rut, obsessed with our appetites, our affections, our projects We are not ready for the coming of the Son of Man. We do not change mentality and we fail to be carried away by him. If we are ready and if we are swept away with him, then life changes. We enter into life more deeply, experiencing its beauty and profundity.

We are not masters of our own existence. The Lord is the master of life. He is coming and we must be ready for him by living for the things that are eternal. Let us make our houses ready for the arrival of this wonderful guest!

How many people live in tension, bitterness and fear! The coming of the Lord for them is something traumatic and dreadful because they wish to be the absolute masters of their own existence. Their spouses must conform to a certain preconceived notion, their children must match up to a certain standard, their work must go according to plan. But reality is not in our hands and it is never as we wish it to be. If we expect to be masters of our own existence then this will lead to frustration and bitterness. We must learn to allow Jesus to be the Lord of history. In this time of Advent we must prepare ourselves to be visited by him. Sometimes our house is such a mess that we are embarrassed to invite our friends in for a visit. How beautiful it is to have our houses ready for guests. A wonderful guest is on his way, and he is the Lord!