I SUNDAY OF ADVENT
THE BLESSED TIME OF WAITING FOR JESUS
By our Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Jiménez
We have arrived at the first Sunday of Advent. All of Advent will be an invitation to look forward to the coming of Christ. It is not so much a time to cry out: “Come, Lord Jesus.” Jesus Christ came 2015 years ago. So, this time of year it is good to raise our heads, open our eyes and hears and be open to living the best we can. Life is given in family, in community, in the church, the community of faith. We wait for the Parousia, which will be the complete manifestation of Christ.
An important point of the prophet Jeremiah is the invitation to internalization. It is in the interior where personal projects are born, it is in the interior reflection where faith and hope mature. In this world full of noise internalization is necessary. It is during times of interior silence when a human being can find himself and it is the place where one can find God. In our world full of noise and such a hectic pace of life, it seems like we are afraid to be alone and in silence, the reason is a fear to face oneself.
“May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” (1 Thes 3:12) In our daily walk we can never go alone, but rather we walk in community, as a people. This time if waiting should help us to strengthen our brotherly ties during this journey that we should undergo in community, with joy and conviction. To share brotherly love should help us overcome all of our differences, but also to accept them, and so guarantee fulfillment of the journey. Hope will be fulfilled in the end.
“But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” (Lk 21:28) The liturgy of the Word and the sacramental of this first Sunday of Advent invite us to direct our attention to the glorious return of our Lord (this is the original and fullest sense of Advent). A true believer should be immersed in this world, sharing in its suffering and deficiencies, the joys and hopes of all men. Only from this solidarity the believer can transmit to the world a gospel message that is credible, acceptable and that makes sense. This world is in need of the living testimony of believers.
Our Holy Father Francis has a strong voice, because he lives his faith in a simple way, giving testimony to his preaching with his actions. This is the great challenge that he gives us: be men and women who interiorize our faith, who exteriorize it with acts of charity and mercy, in that way showing that our hope is alive. May we live with the joy of our faith, living the blessed hope of salvation. May we live in Christ and may he come again in glory. Amen.