Reflection on the Readings for the First Sunday of Advent, 01 Dec 2024:

Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2; Luke 21:25-28 and 21:34-36.

The first of December, the first Sunday of Advent, the first day in the new Church Year.
We are entering the Year C – the Year of the Gospel according to Luke.

The Gospel of Luke is so different to the Gospel of Mark which we have heard in the last months.
Mark focussed on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus while Luke’s Gospel is often called the Gospel of the Gentiles – a Gospel embracing the diversity of people living in the Mediterranean areas at the time.

Advent is a time of waiting. The word ad-venire indicates the coming.

Jeremiah makes it clear: we are waiting for the Saviour who will be of the House of David, likely the most important king of the Jewish people. He will be just and righteous, and it will be worth waiting for him as it is God who is going to send him.

However, it is not enough to wait patiently, we need to act within our community, within the Communion of Saints as Paul refers to.
Paul has been fighting the good fight for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have to act according to the instructions received from God. What are these “instructions”? It seems like Paul is referring to the 10 Commandments, especially to the concept of “love your neighbour as yourself”.

Our preparation for when the Saviour comes is to love one another as sisters and brothers. Just as Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to stay steadfast and be ready, we are called to be steadfast and to reach out to one another.

The Coming of the Lord… how will it look like? This is an ancient question. Even Elijah was wondering how he could recognise God. While he was on Mt Horeb, waiting for further instructions, he thought that God was in a powerful wind, an earthquake or a fire – but no, God was in the gentle whisper…

In Luke’s Gospel, the coming of the Saviour is described in a very powerful way. We need to read the signs, the different lights we see on the earth: the sun, the moon and the stars will tell us when the moment is near – that’s when we need to make sure we are prepared.
Well prepared, we don’t have to fear anything. We will be able to stand tall with our head held up with confidence and trust in God.

BM