I SUNDAY OF ADVENT
By our Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Jiménez
This Sunday we begin a new liturgical year, cycle B, and during this year we will mostly read the Gospel of Saint Mark.
Advent is a sign of hope for the world, because humanity has no future without God, without the God of love who became flesh and brought the Good News, and salvation for humanity. Advent is a dialogue prior to the Incarnation, a dialogue of hope between God and man. God calls us to undo the hell of darkness that we – humanity – often provoke with our attitudes and our lifestyles.
“While you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old. No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him.” (Is 64: 2-3) The prophet reviews the previous situation and understands that the people have forgotten God. What can happen without God? That is the reason for his desperate cry out to God, to come down. Then God has not stayed in his heaven, but has come down to be one of us and to teach us to practice justice and solidarity. God came down to us to save us and to free us. That petition became a reality with Jesus’ Incarnation. But many centuries before Him, men, prophets like Isaiah, sensed it as if they were seeing it with their own eyes.
The evangelist used the parable of the gatekeeper who receives powers to watch over the house until his lord-owner returns. We can found this parable almost at the end of the Gospel of Mark, and it is seen as a kind of consequence, that the editor of the Gospel brings out. “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” (Mk 13: 33) The fact that the day and time can’t be assured exposes the factions of that time, who were looking for ways to frighten psychologically overwhelmed people. However, today we must interpret the apocalyptic meaning of this biblical passage with wisdom and coherence with Jesus’ idea about God and his saving action of humanity. It asks us for vigilance. What does that mean? May we live in the light of the Gospel, following the example of Jesus incarnate, who gives himself for our salvation. Vigilance is as important as knowing how to live with dignity and hope. Advent should help us to have a personal encounter with God the Father, creator of this world redeemed by Jesus Christ, and in that personal relationship persevere in vigilance.
“He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 1: 8) Saint Paul thought that the day of the Parousia (the second coming of Jesus) would come soon, as a manifestation of God’s saving action on this world and on history. And for that day you do not have to prepare yourself with knowledge, but with the practice of a life full of meaning, that is, living the Gospel values.
Advent must bring out the Christian hope in us: everything will end well, in the hands of God. Only in God does our existence make sense.