1st Sunday of Advent – Year C
December 1, 2024
Gospel Lectionary Text
Luke 21:25-36
21:25 "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
21:26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
21:27 Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.
21:28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
21:29 Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees;
21:30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.
21:31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
21:32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.
21:33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
21:34 "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly,
21:35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.
21:36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."
Context
Welcome to the first week of Advent. It’s a season of waiting. We wait for the coming Christ who is always “drawing near.” Over the next four weeks, we will sit in what we call the “waiting rooms of Christmas.” These rooms are not easy to inhabit, but when occupied with open hearts they are transformational.
The first week of Advent, we find ourselves in what may be the most difficult of all the rooms. It is the waiting room of apocalypse. The images of this week’s text are frightening. They conjure visions of doom and gloom that make us “faint from fear.” But let’s be clear: this is not a text about divine wrath; it's about the chaos that unfolds when the kind light of the gospel reveals our troubled hearts and distressed nations as the death traps that they can be. It helps to remember that the word apocalypse simply means “unveiling,” which is what happens when the light of Christ enters darkness. But what’s good for the goose is good for the gander — not only is our violence exposed, so is God’s mercy.
And so, Advent invites us to occupy the chaos and uncertainty of our world with assurance that there is never a moment when Christ is not coming among us and calling forth life. This is the deepest and truest apocalypse.
Question
How would you name the darkness in which you now wait, and how do the words of the psalmist speak to you as you occupy it? … "Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you." (Psalm 139:12)
Reflections
Look at the Trees
By Kristy Humphreys |
Um, what? Why the downer when I’m getting ready to hang Christmas lights and set out the manger? Even the first candle on the advent wreath is for “hope,” not a concept I generally tie to fear and foreboding.
The Waiting Rooms of Christmas: Apocalypse and Holy Defiance
By Kris Rocke |
Welcome to the first week of Advent. If you are new to the liturgical calendar, Advent is the four Sundays leading up to Christmas and it marks the beginning of the liturgical year.
Praying Eucharistically - Weekly Homily by James Alison:
Understanding the Bible anew through the Mimetic Theory of René Girard.
Poetry
On The Mystery Of The Incarnation
by Denise Levertov
It's when we face for a moment
the worst our kind can do, and shudder to know
the taint in our own selves, that awe
cracks the mind's shell and enters the heart:
not to a flower, not to a dolphin,
to no innocent form
but to this creature vainly sure
it and no other is god-like, God
(out of compassion for our ugly
failure to evolve) entrusts,
as guest, as brother,
the Word.
Prayer
As you contemplate the Christ Mystery, Inhale (I) and exhale (E) according to the prompts.
(I) Christ in me; (E) Me in Christ; (I) Christ in all; (E) All is well;
(I) Christ in me; (E) Me in Christ; (I) Christ in all; (E) All is one;
(I) Christ in me; (E) Me in Christ; (I) Christ in all; (E) All is Christ;
(I) All is Christ; (E) All is one; (I) All is well; (E) In Christ.
