November 28th 2021.  First Sunday of Advent

GOSPEL Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

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

 

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

 

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GOSPEL Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.’

‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’

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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. Is the Gospel about the anguish at the end of the world? It is about the anguish and tumult that is always present whenever we are redeemed and transformed by God

On this first Sunday of Advent, the theme is the coming of the Lord, the day that God will fulfil all of his promises. What sort of day will it be? Disconcertingly, Jesus tells us that it will be a day of great signs, fear and anguish. Why will the day be of this sort? Because Christ comes to bring us to completion, to liberate us from that which holds us back, those things that are not redeemed. This is not a story about the end of the world, but rather the story of every personal salvation, where the real enemy is not what we lose but our lack of openness to what is arriving. In Jesus’ discourse, the mention of the sun, moon and stars represent the points of reference of our lives, and the fact that these points of reference will one day be challenged. The mystery of redemption always involves recognizing in the end of things the beginning of something greater, seeing in the moment of pain the fact of regeneration. All of these signs that make us suffer are actually the labour pains of something greater. In the Our Father, we pray, “thy Kingdom come”. When Jesus becomes our King, he becomes the true point of reference of our lives. All false points of reference disappear.

 

2. The enemy of transformation is attachment to transitory things that do not give life.

What is the enemy of this transformation to which we are called and will be called again, especially at the end of our lives? Jesus tells us to watch out or “your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life”. Our homeland is not here. This is the beginning of a great adventure that will lead us elsewhere. The beauty of this world is just a shadow of the beauty to come. We know, innately, that something is missing that will only be ours in heaven. If we are drunk and taken up with the cares of this world, we will fail to appreciate the true greatness of things. Too often, we give excessive importance to things that are transitory. We absolutize them and become their slaves. We attach ourselves to gratifications and pleasures not realizing that the greatest joys are to come. Let us not be like superficial people who, when the moment of salvation comes, swap salvation for something transitory. When difficulty comes, we fail to see that this difficulty is a call to love, to grow.

 

3. Pain and difficulty are often opportunities for growth, for abandonment to the Lord. This Advent let us not live for small and trivial things, but live in the presence of the Lord.

Jesus tells us to pray for the strength to survive what is about to happen, in other words, to not be taken up with the things of this world. Everything that happens to us is for the purpose of leading us to stand with confidence before the Son of Man. In the end, it is the visit of the Lord into our lives that gives sense and flavour to everything. This Advent, let us be at peace with any suffering, anguish or uncertainty that is in our lives. Such suffering, anguish or uncertainty is the pathway for growing closer to the Lord, for becoming his. It is not essential that we hide from pain but, rather, that we grow through pain, standing upright before the Lord. This is truly what matters in life, to live in the presence of the Lord, not to live according to secondary and trivial things of this world that never bring us to completion.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

In the first reading we hear wonderful prophecies promising good things for God’s people in the future. But in the gospel, Jesus speaks of a future day of anguish and despair. What is going on here? Does God intend to bless us in the future, or bring about doom? Do these readings contradict each other? No! The fact is that God has wonderful graces and blessings in store for each of us, but these blessings will seem like a curse if we are not prepared to receive them. In fact, Jesus tells us how to prepare ourselves for the dramatic events of the future. We must stand up and renounce debauchery, drunkenness and the cares of this world. Debauchery refers to the way that we squander the good things the Lord has given us. Drunkenness refers to the way each one of us is addicted to the gratification of our senses and our egos. The cares of this world refers to the way we are attached to money, possessions, social status, the admiration of others. If we are living our lives in this self-obsessed manner, then the future coming of Jesus into our lives will be a day of anguish and despair for us! But if we are prepared for the coming of Jesus (by living simple and upright lives of abandonment to Christ), then our future encounter with the Lord will be experienced as a wonderful blessing. Advent is about the future coming of Christ. We must live every day in preparation for his coming. This means “travelling light”, not being weighed down with the cares of this world and with habits of self-indulgence. We must be like athletes focussed on a big event, eliminating everything that distracts us from our goal!