1st Sunday of Advent 28 November 2021 Smooth transition
Some passages in the Bible speak of being caught out doing the wrong thing.
The five foolish virgins who did not have enough oil for their lamp (Mt 25,1-13), or the servants who became lazy because unsupervised (Mk 13,34-37).
Or the people of Noah’s time who ignored the warnings. (1 Peter 3,20)
God does not take pleasure in catching us out. These passages are meant to have the opposite effect of spurring us on to doing the right thing.
He is saying, Don’t be like those people… instead follow what I am saying and you will have great happiness.
This is always at the basis of Church preaching… warning people they could die soon, that the world could end any day… we don’t want anyone to be lost.
For some the ‘fright’ approach might be the only thing that works.
The preferred option would be simply to point out the immense benefits that come to anyone who tries to act as God would want, and then let things take their natural course.
God came to His own and they knew Him not (Jn 1,10). He would have much preferred if they had known Him.
The preferred idea was that Our Lord would come to the earth and proclaim the Kingdom and all the freshness that goes with that.
People would be impressed by His teaching and miracles, and then would follow on in their own lives.
This would create a near perfect world if enough people would follow that same lead.
It did not happen like this, certainly not in such a direct way, but it did happen in another way.
Our Lord spoke of leaven in the bread as an image of what He was trying to do. (Mt 13,33)
The effect would be slow, too slow to be visible, but it would eventually emerge for all to see. The tallest tree. (Mt 13, 32)
This counterbalances the suddenness of the prophesied endings.
Yes there will be dramatic signs in nature symbolising the battle between good and evil.
But for the elect there will be no sudden changes necessary. They already believe; they already obey; they have been living in God's grace for years.
For them, the second coming will be a joyful event, merely confirming what they already possess.
We could say that the Lord comes quickly and slowly, depending on which aspect of His dealings we are addressing.
The ‘slow’ coming is the everyday communications of Himself that He makes with all who call upon Him.
This would be especially found in the sacraments, and most of all in the Eucharist.
He is coming again, but He is really here anyway, only not in visible form.
He is seeking by His continuous presence to work changes in us, to help us break free from patterns of sin; to develop virtues; to reform our society to be like the Kingdom.
This is how it was meant to happen. If it has to be a punitive coming with people hiding from Him in terror – God does not want this, but it is what will happen if people reject Him.
We are doing all we can to prevent that.
Advent is to help us see all this in perspective. Our position is one of joyful anticipation.
In short, the second coming is not meant to be seen as an interruption but as a smooth transition.
The same could be said for our own death. If we are in a state of grace, and really seeking to keep things on track we should be able to embrace death without fear.
Come, Lord Jesus!
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