We begin a new Church calendar with the First Sunday of Advent. As one looks into the readings today, he/she can easily make a very valid observation. This Sunday's readings do not seem to differ from those of the last days of the ecclesiastical year - all about the things going to happen an the end of time. It is easy to understand why when we look into the nature and purpose of the Advent Season.
Advent is a time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of the Messiah. He is the fulfillment of the promises God made in the Old Testament. As we wait for His birth, we anticipate joy but at the same time we can be filled with impatience. We want things to happen now. Children cannot seem to wait for the gifts they wish to receive. And the adults seem to be caught, not in the spiritual preparation for His coming birthday and whatever is involved in it, but in the frenzy of Christmas glitter - Christmas trees, lights, decorations, and all.
What we must understand of Advent is the fact that we do not only prepare for the Savior's coming birth but what His birth means to us, a people who otherwise could have been "walking in darkness". the reason of His birth is man's redemption. His work of redemption entails the great Mystery of Faith which we profess every time we come together to celebrate the Word and the Eucharist: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!
As we prepare to celebrate His birth, we must, by all means, prepare for His Second Coming.Thus, the readings this Sunday center on the coming of Jesus Christ at the end of time, and the urgency for us to be constantly watchful and vigilant. We do not know when that Second Coming is going to take place. Definitely none of us wants to be caught in a trap.
Preparedness for His Second Coming is the other face of Advent. That Coming at the end of time is what the Messiah's birth is pointing to, inevitably.
Fr Jess A. Enciso
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