FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
27 NOVEMBER 2016
After
years of study, planning, running a capital campaign, and choosing contractors,
we broke ground for our new church in the spring of 2015. At that time, we chose a date for the
dedication of the new church: just
before Thanksgiving of 2016. According
to this plan, we could use the new church during Advent and be ready for
Christmas. We were so confident of our
plans that Bishop Rhoades blessed a cornerstone with the year 2016 etched on
it.
As time
went on, we began to understand the old saying that “we plan, and God
laughs.” We ran into all kinds of delays
– partly due to the weather, partly due to construction materials and laborers
committed to other construction projects, and partly due to God’s sense of
humor. So, we came up with a new
plan. In this plan, we will dedicate the
new church on March 25, 2017. Those who
are performing their daily tasks in the church have their eyes set on that
date.
On this
First Sunday of Advent, our Scripture readings remind us that God also makes
plans. Isaiah speaks to a people who
have suffered many bruising military defeats against the Assyrian Empire. He tells them God’s plans for Mount Zion,
where the temple is built in Jerusalem.
That mountain will be the highest place drawing people from all over the
world to come and find peace. At that
time, he says, no one will need weapons of war.
Those weapons will be turned into instruments of agriculture. But he does not say when that plan will
happen.
In today’s
Gospel, Jesus speaks of God’s plan for the end of the world. He uses the Greek word parousia as an image. Just
as villagers would prepare for the coming (parousia)
of an important ruler into their area, so his followers must prepare for his
coming at the end of time. That coming
will fulfill all that he had accomplished through the Mysteries of his
Incarnation and Paschal Mystery. His Parousia will bring judgment and
peace. But, like Isaiah before him, he
does not say when that plan will happen.
God’s plan
is at the heart of the Season of Advent.
The four weeks of Advent remind us that God is always faithful to his
plan. Advent prepares us to celebrate the Lord’s first coming at
Christmas. God was faithful to his plan
in a way that no one could have expected.
God took on human flesh as a baby and was born into poverty. Advent also reminds us that the Lord will be
faithful to his plan for the Parousia, his coming at the end of time. Because we do not know the timing of that
plan, we need to follow the advice of Saint Paul. Paul points out that we passed from darkness
into light in Baptism. As baptized
disciples, we put on Christ and wear our baptismal garments, allowing our
actions to carry the light of Christ into a darkened world. Like those hard workers in our new church, we
wear our baptismal garments with eyes fixed on the day when the Lord will
accomplish his plan.
Paul gives some practical examples
of how to wear those garments. There is
nothing wrong with going to parties, as long as the goal is to interact with
people and enjoy each other’s company.
Paul does not dismiss sexual relationships. But he insists that our gift of sexuality be
connected with giving ourselves in love.
Paul knows that Christians will not always agree. But we have to avoid egoism and
ambition. These three simple examples
help us understand that waiting and being watchful are not about fear and
trembling, but about living in the light.
Use this
Season of Advent as a time to enter more deeply into understanding God’s
plan. We catch glimpses of that plan in
silence and prayer. Come to the Tuesday
night liturgies. Resist the temptation
to celebrate the “holiday season” now. If
we learn to be watchful and alert during this Season, we will be watchful and
alert at Christmas in four weeks and at the Parousia when God’s plan will be
completely revealed.
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