1st Sunday of Advent 3.12.17 Welcoming Christ
It is very comforting, in the midst of all our troubles, to
have the Faith, which enables us to believe that we will see victory in the
end, no matter what reverses or disasters we might have to deal with first.
We have a Saviour, and a very active one at that.
He has come once, and done all sorts of good; and He will
come a second time, and do even more good.
His second coming could be an occasion of joy or horror,
according to each person’s stance towards Him. Some will be glad to see Him;
others not so.
We want to make sure we are in the welcoming group.
The key to which group we belong is whether or not we are in
union with Him.
Will He, in short, recognise us as belonging to Him? Or will
He see us as hypocrites, or people who buried our talents; or who failed to
forgive others…
Everything depends on Him. He is Creator and Saviour;
meaning that the whole universe belongs to Him and all that is good comes from
Him.
If we are in union with him we have access to all that is in
His power, especially life. He keeps us alive now; He promises eternal life if
we stay faithful to Him.
He is the resurrection and the life. To have Him is
everything; not to have Him is the loss of everything, with the anguish of
knowing what one has lost (thus, Hell).
If we are indifferent to Him, that equates with rejection.
Many think He is irrelevant, or can be kept in certain
compartments (such as Christmas and Easter). No, He is relevant at all times,
and in all places and circumstances. He is First and Last, Lord of the living
and the dead….
This means our lives come under His dominion also. How we
relate to Him is the most important characteristic about us.
We can classify people in many ways: gender, race, height,
age etc; but the question that really counts is: how much do you love Jesus
Christ?
All else that we regard as important – family, health,
wealth, house, car, ambitions, interests…. These may be important, and they have
their place, but all considerations are subservient to our union with Christ.
This is why Our Lord could say: if you love father or mother
more than Me you are not worthy of Me (Mt 10,37).
We can love other people and things, but it must be less
than we love Jesus Christ.
And the way we deal with every other person or thing will be
in reference to Our Lord and His will.
This will serve to enrich everything else, not take away
from it. We will love others more, not less, if we put Christ first.
So much human striving is off beam in terms of people’s
setting the wrong goals, going about things the wrong way, misreading what is
success and failure.
And this is all compounded by the fact that so many are
doing the same thing, and have been for centuries.
All of this, however, can be set right with sincere repentance.
We realign ourselves with the true God, and then so much
good can follow.
It is within our grasp. This is the message we put out to
the world. Behold your God. You have ignored Him too long. He will still save,
on request. Never mind what you have done. He has enough love to cover it.
All of which is why we welcome Him to come again. The closer
He is the better off we are. If His coming interrupts our plans we will be going
to something far better. We gain all happiness at once if we are ready to meet Him.
Our prayer for His coming will serve to make us more ready to
meet Him. Come, Lord Jesus!
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