Wednesday 4 December 2019

1st Sunday of Advent Year A 2019

So many of us are somnambulists. We may not know it, but we might as well be sleep-walking through life. We could be wide awake and yet our lives do not register any purpose or goal. Some just go through the motion of living a life that may slightly be better than a living dead.
 
Before we go on, let me wish you all “Happy New Year”. I know that the greeting does not sound at all “new” and there is definitely no feel to it. But we have effectively crossed into Year A in the liturgical calendar. And as a new year goes, this is a time for making resolutions. Even if we do not feel it, the colour purple is rather indicative of the direction our resolutions should take.

Firstly, Advent is a time of longing. As we yearn, we look back at the past to commemorate His coming in history—born of Mary, born in Bethlehem, born to be King. This is the Christmas celebration we are so familiar with. At the same time, we also look forward to His future coming at the end of time. There is an urgency we should recognise as we wait for this future coming. Why? Well, the historical coming ushered in the age of salvation. The work of redemption began with Christ coming in the flesh. Through the Cross and Resurrection, Christ has defeated Satan but the work of salvation is far from being completed. This is because creation is still on a journey. The analogy to describe this period after the first coming and before the second is that whilst the war has been won by Christ, what remains now is the mopping up of whatever resistance there is to the full inauguration of His kingdom. Imagine France liberated by the Allied Forces and yet there are still pockets of Nazis refusing to surrender. This analogy helps us understand why we are aptly described as Church Militant, the Church still at war with forces inimical to the Reign of Christ. Even though Satan has been defeated, he still does not want to concede defeat. He still conspires to bring man to his knees.

Hence the necessary preparation on our part if we are to soldier on. We are urged to wake up from this somnambulist stupor so as to appreciate the salvation that Christ has won for us and not squander it by our lukewarm attitude. So, wake up and throw off the works of darkness as the 2nd reading tells us. Embrace a life that is tempered so that what is good might lead us to what is better instead of letting the good we enjoy slide into indulgence. With Christmas parties lined up even before the 25th of December, we can easily forget the penitential nature of Advent. The Lord Himself warns us not to be caught unawares like those who partied but were washed away by the Great Deluge during the time of Noah.

To prepare is to be aware and this attitude is not alien to us. In fact, we have witnessed a development which uses the past tense of the word “awake” and that is the “woke” phenomenon. The word was first used in the 1940s as a concept that symbolises awareness of social issues and movement against injustice, inequality and prejudice. Remember the recent #Metoo wave that swept in by the tsunami of the Harvey Weinstein’s scandal? We are awake!!

Whilst it is good to be conscious and sensitive to social situations, it would also be good if we pay a bit more attention to the state of our souls. Where do we stand in the matter of eternal salvation? Can we, or rather, can I be sure that when I die, I have an assured place in heaven? In regard to this eligibility for heaven, we need to be careful of the two sins against hope. The first is despair and the second is presumption. Despair is a sin against hope in that it considers everything to end in failure, that not even God’s mercy can save a person whereas presumption sins against hope in that it takes for granted God’s mercy. In this age of cheap grace, the belief that God is merciful has been drummed into us: He cannot help but forgive. Well, this presumption can lead to the error of leniency.

Alongside leniency, one of our greatest delusion is the availability of time. We believe that we still have time and tomorrow is a favourite word for most procrastinator.

This evening, we have the Rite of Acceptance.

The formal name for this ceremony is “The celebration of the rite of acceptance into the order of catechumens and of the rite of welcoming baptised but previously uncatechised adults who are preparing for Confirmation and/or Eucharist or Reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church”. It is rather mouthful, but it helps us understand what the focus of the first Sunday of Advent is.

The phrase “previously uncatechised adults” shows us how important catechesis is and preparation too. The failure of catechesis is not merely the “unchurched” but rather the advancement of the kingdom of darkness. Whether we acknowledge it or not, there is a battle between good and evil that rages in the hearts of each one of us. In this struggle, God is often pushed to the margins because He gets in the way of life. He is frequently the last in our consideration. We tend to give Him not the best but the rest.

Hence, preparation means to refocus or rather to re-centre our lives on God. The urgency is not meant to scare but rather to encourage us. The Collect is wonderfully inspiring: “Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at His coming, so that gathered at His right hand, they may be worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom”. May we have this resolve, this burning resolution, like an athlete at the starting block, ready to spring into action; ready to run forth to meet the Christ who is also coming toward us at Christmas and at His second coming.