1st Sunday of Advent 27.11.11 Our own Advent
Consider: if we knew that the world was ending tomorrow what would we do? I think we would be looking around for the nearest Confession, saying a few Rosaries, going to Masses, pleading for mercy.
What if we knew for certain that the world would not end for a long long time? So then we might relax and not go to Confession and all the rest.
Wrong answer! We would do the same things as in the first case. Always we should be looking to draw closer to God than we are at the moment - every day, whether it be the Last day or not.
Our religion is not meant to be an exercise of cleverness, timing repentance just in time to make the cut.
Some people repent at the last minute and it is possible to be saved that way, but it is not recommended we rely on that approach. Last minute repentance is better than no repentance, but better by far if we repent now.
We repent, not to beat the system, but so that we learn to love God for His own sake, seeking to please Him at all times. To love Him as He should be loved.
We want to reach that level of spiritual maturity whereby we behave the same whether it is the Last Day or any other day; whether in private or public, in church or outside, on special days or ordinary days.
Our faith needs to be something inside us so that we are not just putting on a performance, but expressing real belief that will govern the way we live - this is genuine religion.
At this time of the year we focus more on the last things: there are warnings and threats worked into that.
If we need to be threatened to turn from bad to good then so be it. If we have moved beyond the need for threats then it is less a matter of fear and more about loving Christ.
The Gospel tells us to welcome the coming of Christ. Hold your heads high. We have nothing to fear if we really love Him.
There is talk of stars falling and cosmic upheavals but the biggest change is in the soul of the sinner, when our own desires change. We are looking forward to an end of sin, light winning out over darkness, a new tomorrow. We can have our own Advent.
We do not have to wait for Christ to come again to see some of these changes. We can anticipate His coming by being fully attuned to Him. So that when He does come in external reality we are not embarrassed, shocked, ashamed, but absolutely at one with Him.
The timing of His coming might surprise us but it will not embarrass us.
We will not fear Him as a lazy servant might fear the return of his master. If we are serving Him every day then every day we are ready to welcome Him.
There are things out of our control, many things, but this much we can do: simply do every action, large and small, according to God’s will.
People will always be speculating about dates. We should not get too excited by predictions; but we should get excited by the coming of Christ, His final glorious coming, and in the meantime His coming to each of us, transforming us within.
Whether He comes tomorrow or in a thousand years time: we are ready to receive Him.
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