Seeing the signs of Jesus coming? Be prepared!

First Sunday of Advent, Cycle B - December 2, 2012

Black Friday…Cyber Monday….Christmas decorations in all the stores since early November....Colored lights and a flying reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh in your neighbors yard….A 20 foot inflatable Snow with Happy Holiday on it….Heavy traffic around the Malls.

These are some of the signs I’ve been noticing since the beginning of November.   It’s the secular start of the Christmas season, mainly focused to on shopping and not too much on Christ.  

Did you notice some signs in the Church this morning that things are a little different? It’s the start of the season of Advent, and new liturgical year.  Father Vince and I are both wearing purple vestments.     There is purple draping behind the altar.    This morning we lit the purple candle on the Advent wreath.  The color purple is a sign of anticipation.  Does anyone know what we are anticipating?   We are anticipating the coming of Christ into the world at Christmas.  What else are we anticipating? Christ coming in Glory at the end of time where he will come to judge each and every one of us.   The end of time and judgment may sound a little frightening, but as Christians this is something we should look forward to with joy, if we are prepared.    The Church takes some time before rushing into the Christmas season to prepare to meet Christ.

In the Gospel today Jesus tells us there will be signs in the sun, moon, and the stars and also roaring of the sea on the earth causing the people to be dismayed, perplexed, frightened, and full of anxiety.  The eclipse of the sun & moon were very scary events for the people of Jesus time. The prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Joel described these events in their writings of the end times. When Jesus used these same descriptions it caused the people listen and take notice of what he had to say.

In today’s world we also see some signs that cause us to be anxious & dismayed.   For some people all the hype from the secular Christmas season causes some real anxiety about pressure to spend money.  Many of us are going through tough economic times due to job loss or uncertainty.   Others are dealing with the signs of destruction of lost homes or businesses caused by natural disasters such as hurricane Sandy on the East coast or the tornadoes in Henryville area of Southern Indiana where over two hundred families are still without homes.

Turning back to the Gospel Jesus gives some good news for the people to be hopeful for in the midst of the calamities: THEIR REDEMPTION IS COMING! They will see the coming of Son of Man in a cloud with power and great glory.  The Son of Man is a reference Jesus used to refer to himself as the One to bring salvation to God’s people.  This is a reference the people recognize from the prophet Daniel.  He is announcing the fulfillment the prophecy to the people.  Jesus also gives the people some good advice on how to be ready for his coming.    He warns them to not let their hearts become drowsy from inappropriate activities or anxieties of life, but to be vigilant and pray to have strength to escape the tribulations and to stand before the Son of Man. 

Jesus tells us to be vigilant.  The dictionary defines vigilant as being “alertly watchful”.  To be alert we should be ready and prepared. How can we do this?  By focusing on the things in our lives to bring us closer to Jesus and getting rid of the things that don’t. If we know Christ is going to be coming again in Glory we should be vigilant for his coming and be at our best when we meet Jesus when he comes again. 

When he comes how do we want to meet him?  Today’s opening prayer provides a wonderful image. 

Grant your faithful, we pray, Almighty God the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds, so that, gathered at his right hand they may be worthy to posses the heavenly Kingdom.

This reminds me of an image we see quite often in the movies.  A soldier who has gone off to war and then returns home to his loved ones. When the soldier gets off the airplane we see the friends or family members running with tears of joy and hugging them in a loving embrace. Many of us who have had similar experience being away from our families after a long business trip.   When arrive home our children are overjoyed to see us and run up to give us hugs and kisses.   Both of these images are what we need to keep in mind at the excitement we should have at the coming of our Lord Jesus.

Now after the loving embrace what usually happens next?  You get caught up with each other on what we’ve been doing since we’ve been apart.   Has anyone ever had the unfortunate experience of doing something bad and getting the “wait till your father gets home speech?”   If so you probably hid instead of running up to great you father when you came home.  Wouldn’t you feel much better telling your loved one about all of the good things you’ve done than having to go through all our misgivings?

This Advent, take the time to be alert and make yourself ready for the coming of Christ in Glory.   Use this time for prayer to be with Jesus and listen to him.   Listen to what he is calling you to do to become closer to him and rid yourself of what is separating you from him. Starting this Advent you’ll have a wonderful opportunity to do so after the 8:45 am Mass as we will have adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for an hour.  This is a wonderful time to slow down in this busy season before Christmas and be with Christ.  Also try to take some time out each day for 5 or 10 minutes of prayer and ask how can I prepare my self to be ready to meet Christ.   Consider participating in Advent activity to focus on others to see Christ in them and be Christ to them.   This will help you to prepare for the coming of Christ.  Have a blessed Advent!