First Sunday in Advent

November 28, 2010

The frightening way Jesus in Matthew's Gospel describes the ushering in of the coming of the Son of Man at first blush seems brutal in comparison with Isaiah's description of God's everlasting reign. It gets our attention. For the first day of the new Advent season, this is an effective tactic. It helps us to be on guard and to sense the urgency that something hidden yet profound is happening. We have to wait as the mystery slowly unfolds and our comprehension builds. If we can look for the breaking in of God's plan into the daily order of life, we will confidently trust in God's steadfastness.

Jesus tells us to be wiser than the people of Noah's days who disregarded the signs of the times. All perished except those few who boarded the ark. We are to be attentive to the signs around us even when our families and closest friends suggest we ignore these minute but significant details. Some of those whom we love and expect to be saved alongside of us regrettably will choose differently. We are encouraged that we will choose rightly because we remained vigilant.

Paul reminds us of the same points. Remain alert and conform your behavior to attain the salvation that awaits you. Paul does not want us to be passive. We are to actively throw off the works of darkness and to just as actively put on the armor of light. We wear Jesus Christ when we live in integrity with his teaching.

Discipleship carries great cost. Isaiah's vision will reign only after the world, which does not follow God's ways, battles those who remain God's faithful ones. The impending conflict will bring much chaos and confusion and we will become disillusioned in the great struggle. We will wrestle with uncertainty and we will experience the great pain of losing loved ones. Isaiah assures us the effort will be worth it as the world's standards are brought into a new order.

This new world order will draw many diverse people to it because it is so attractive. They will faithfully obey God's ways because they are beneficial for them. God will usher in a kingdom of peace in which no thought of violence, harm, threat, force, or war will rise from the people because they honor and respect each other's dignity as one of God's offspring. They will find only the good in one another and will delight in each other's company.

In contrast, we see the brokenness of our lives today and we yearn for something better. We can have it. In Advent, we look more closely for the ways God is with us. God is bringing us closer to this vision and he wants us to notice him in the daily grind. The readings provoke us to be open enough to say "yes" to God's initiatives. To do that, we need to put on Christ so we can see the potential for the world through his eyes. Christ never lets Isaiah's vision slip from his glance. We've see a glimpse of that world too in some memorable instance. We innately grasp for that memory and its power for the future. Let's slow down and pray that God can open our eyes to notice the minutest detail where he is at work.

Quote for the Week

From Paul's Letter to the Romans:

Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is now the hour for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand.

Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provisions for the desires of the flesh.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: Isaiah rushes into our readings with a proclamation of the day of the Lord that is to come. It will bring honor and splendor and shelter and protection to the faithful ones. The Lord will provide a rich feast for his people on his holy mountain. He will destroy death forever and wipe away tears from all faces. On that day of salvation, the people will sing a song of praise to the Lord because they trust in his steadfastness. The blind will see, the poor will rejoice, the mighty will be brought low, and the Lord's children will keep his name holy. Great is the Lord! The Lord will provide for all the cares of the people.

Gospel: Jesus is amazed at the faith of the Gentile Centurion who is obedient to his words as one who has many under his authority can understand. The nations from the east and west will more easily hear the words of God's prophet than Israel will. Jesus is seen as the shepherd who will gather up the many, especially the downtrodden and outcast, and he will care for them just as God cares for them. Only those who hear his words and understands that they come from God will enter into heaven. His words provide a sure foundation. Jesus gives sight to two blind men who come to believe he is the anointed one of God. Jesus called many to himself to teach them about the kingdom of heaven. He also called twelve who would become his closest friends. They would receive authority over unclean spirits and power to cure every disease and illness.

Saints of the Week

Tuesday: Andrew, apostle, is the brother of Simon Peter and an original disciple of John the Baptist. Like his brother, he was a fisherman who was selected to be one of the twelve disciples. After the resurrection of Jesus, it is assumed Andrew preached in Greece, though many legends have him traveling far north to Scotland. The cross of Andrew appears on the United Kingdom's Union Jack to represent Scotland.

Wednesday: Edmund Campion and Robert Southwell, martyrs, were English natives and Jesuit priests at a time when Catholics were persecuted in the country. Both men acknowledged Queen Elizabeth as monarch, but they refused to renounce their Catholic faith. They are among the 40 martyrs of England and Wales. Campion was killed in 1581 and Southwell's death was in 1595.

Friday: Francis Xavier, priest, was a roommate of Ignatius of Loyola and Peter Faber at the University of Paris. One of the first companions of Ignatius, he was one of the seven founding members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits.) After the Order was established in 1540, he was sent on mission to the East Indies where he converted thousands of people to the Christian faith. He is one of the church's greatest missionaries.

Saturday: John of Damascus, priest and doctor, was the last Greek preachers to be named the Fathers of the Church. His preaching and concise description of Christian theology influenced other formative thinkers of Western Christianity. Prior to becoming a monk, scholar, and preacher, he was a government worker.

This Week in Jesuit History

• Nov 28, 1759: Twenty Fathers and 192 Scholastics set sail from the Tagus for exile. Two were to die on the voyage to Genoa and Civita Vecchia.
• Nov 29, 1773: The Jesuits of White Russia requested the Empress Catherine to allow the Letter of Suppression to be published, as it had been all over Europe. "She bade them lay aside their scruples, promising to obtain the Papal sanction for their remaining in status quo.
• Nov 30, 1642: The birth of Br Andrea Pozzo at Trent, who was called to Rome in 1681 to paint the flat ceiling of the church of San Ignazio so that it would look as though there were a dome above. There had been a plan for a dome but there was not money to build it. His work is still on view.
• Dec. 1, 1581: At Tyburn in London, Edmund Campion and Alexander Briant were martyred.
• Dec. 2, 1552: On the island of Sancian off the coast of China, Francis Xavier died.
• Dec. 3, 1563: At the Council of Trent, the Institute of the Society was approved.
• Dec. 4, 1870: The Roman College, appropriated by the Piedmontese government, was reopened as a Lyceum. The monogram of the Society over the main entrance was effaced.

Prayer for Advent

Almighty and merciful God, our hearts desire the warmth of your love and our minds are searching for the light of your Word. Increase our longing for Christ our Savior and give us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of his coming may find us rejoicing in his presence and welcoming the light of his truth. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.

Prayers for the Miner's Families in New Zealand

My prayers go out to the miners in western New Zealand who lost their lives in a deadly explosion a week ago. We hoped the experts could produce another miraculous rescue like the one in Chile, but deadly gases and the explosion killed the miners quickly. Please pray for their souls. Please pray for their families and their countrymen who grieve their losses.