Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk
First Sunday of Advent, Year A – Nov 27, 2022.
Readings: Is 2:1-5; Responsorial Psalm Ps 122:1-2,3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Rom 13:11-14 & Gospel Mat 24:37-44.
Theme: Welcoming Christ!
Sunday Synopsis
The first reading throws an open invitation to the mountain of the Lord to learn from his ways and walk in his paths/light. In the second reading, St. Paul invites us to wake up now because salvation is nearer than it was when we were converted. He challenges us to put off the works of darkness such as drunken orgies, promiscuity, licentiousness, wrangling and jealousy and put on the armour of light. In the gospel, Jesus narrates how God’s judgment fell on many people at Noah’s time because they ignored his warning and took to eating and drinking. Jesus’ allusion to Noah’s time reveals that the Season of Advent is about preparing to welcome Christ in our hearts and sacramentally in Holy Communion.
Introduction
Beloved in Christ, the Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us about the necessity of change in times and seasons when it says: “To everything there is a season, and a time under heaven” (Ecc. 3:1). The Season of Advent is here again – a time when the liturgical colour changes to purple/violet; a time when a new liturgical new calendar begins; a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the nativity of the Lord at Christmas.
The word Advent comes from the Latin, adventus which means “coming” – the word is synonymous with the Greek Parousia which also stands for “coming.” As a season of looking forward and waiting for something really important, Advent is about the preparation of the annual celebration of the birth of Christ and his second coming.
Background and Summary of the Readings
The first reading (Is 2:1-5) openly invites us to God’s Mountain to learn from his ways and walk in his paths/light. It states that on that mountain, the Lord will wield authority and establish peace as there will be no training for war.
In the second reading (Rom 13:11-14), St. Paul urges us to wake up now because salvation is nearer than it was when we were converted. He challenges us to put off the works of darkness such as drunken orgies, promiscuity, licentiousness, wrangling and jealousy and put on the armour of light.
In the gospel (Mat 24:37-44), Jesus narrates how God’s judgment fell on people at Noah’s because they ignored his warning and took to eating and drinking. He likens his Parousia (coming) to the days of Noah, before and after the flood. Jesus’ allusion to Noah’s time reveals that the Season of Advent is about preparedness. Advent creates a spiritual-nostalgia – it recalls the incarnation events namely that through his birth, Christ established an everlasting kingdom. He also returned to the father with the promise that he would come in glory – a return we joyfully await.
Pastoral Lessons
1. Be prepared: The message of the prophet Isaiah that God would judge the world, the warning of Saint Paul that we should shun concupiscence of the flesh and Jesus’ call that we should be prepared, provides us with a spiritual recipe for Advent.
2. Make God’s Incarnation Visible: The New Catholic Encyclopaedia (NCE) urges Catholic faithful to use Advent to prepare themselves worthily to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord’s coming into the world as the incarnate God of love.
3. Receive Holy Communion in Grace: The NCE invites us to make our souls fitting abodes for the Redeemer coming in Holy Communion and through grace.
4. Look towards Jesus’ Coming in Glory: It equally charges us to make ourselves ready for his coming as judge, at death and at the end of the world.
5. Cast Off the Works of Darkness: Today’s liturgy invites us to “cast off the works of darkness” (Rom 13:12) through denying our bodies the desires of the flesh as the second reading recommends.
Summary Lines
1. The first reading openly invites us to God’s Mountain to learn from his ways and walk in his paths/light.
2. The second reading, St. Paul urges us to wake up now because salvation is nearer than it was when we were converted.
3. It challenges us to put off the works of darkness such as drunken orgies, promiscuity, licentiousness, wrangling and jealousy and put on the armour of light.
4. In the gospel, Jesus narrates how God’s judgment fell on people at Noah’s time because they ignored his warning and took to eating and drinking.
5. Jesus’ allusion to Noah’s time reveals that the Season of Advent is about preparedness.
Conclusion
This season supports our understanding of the Christ-events which Advent prepares, and Christmas celebrates. Meantime, in-between the remote events leading to Christmas and our spiritual preparation, is the glorious wait for Jesus’ second coming – Surely, he would come to judge the living and the dead. Little wonder, in the first reading (Is 2:1-5), the prophet Isaiah assures that God would judge between nations while urging all to walk in the light of the Lord. Christians must watch out so as not to be caught up in web of mundane affairs while Christ’s rapture or Parousia takes them off-guard. The times and seasons constitute a period of welcoming Jesus in our hearts for the greater events that would unfold. Have a grace-filled Advent!
