1^st Sunday of Advent - Year B

L-Ewwel Ħadd ta’ l-Avvent - Sena B

Messalin B  75

Reading 1      -     ISaiah 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7

You, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever. Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old.  No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you  doing such deeds for those who wait for him. Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways! Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful; all of us have become like unclean people, all our good deeds are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our guilt carries us away like the wind. There is none who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to cling to you; for you have hidden your face from us and have delivered us up to our guilt. Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari   -    mill-Profeta Isaija 63,16b-17,19b; 64,2-7

Int, Mulej, missierna, Il-feddej tagħna,  ismek minn dejjem. Għaliex, Mulej, iġġegħelna nwarrbu minn triqatek u twebbsilna qalbna biex ma nibżgħux minnek ? Erġa’ lura, minħabba l-qaddejja tiegħek, it-tribujiet li huma wirtek. Mhux li kont iċċarrat is-smewwiet u tinżel minn hemm! U quddiemek il-muntanji jtħeżhżu, bħalma n-nar igħalli l-ilma; biex tgħarraf ismek lill-egħdewwa tiegħek, u l-ġnus jitriegħdu quddiemek; meta int tagħmel egħġubijiet li ma konniex nistennewhom, u sa mill-qedem qatt ma smajna bihom ! U la widna ma semgħet  u la għajn ma rat Alla bħalek, Alla li jħabrek għal min jitma fih, Int tilqa’ bil-ferh ‘il min jagħmel is-sewwa, ‘il dawk li jiftakru fi triqatek. Ara !  int kont mgħaddab għalina, u aħna dnibna. Domna fi dnubna, u kontra tiegħek qomna għal ħafna  żmien.  Tniġġisna lkoll, u sirna bħal ċarruta maħmuġa; bħal werqa lkoll dbilna, u ħżunijietna bħal riħ ġarrewna. Ħadd ma hawn li jsejjaħ ismek, li jitħarrek biex iżomm miegħek. Għax int ħbejt wiċċek minna  u rħejtna f’idejn ħżunijietna. U issa, Mulej, int missierna; aħna t-tafal, u inti l-fuħħari ; aħna lkoll egħmil idejk.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm       -      PSalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

   R/ (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.                                                          R/

Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.       R/

May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.      R/

Salm Responsorjali       Salm 79          

R/ Reġġagħna għal li konna o Alla ta’ l-eżerċti; dawwal wiċċek u  nkunu salvi.                            

O Ragħaj ta’ Israel, agħti widen;

Int li qiegħed fuq il-kerubini, iddi;

Qajjem il-qawwa tiegħek,

u ejja ħa ssalvana.                                                           R/

Alla ta’ l-eżerċti, erġa ejja :

ħares mis-sema u ara,

 u żur ‘il din id-dielja.                                                    

Ħu ħsieb dak li ħawwlet il-leminija tiegħek,

Ir-rimja li kabbart għalik.                                             R/

Ħa tkun idek fuq il-bniedem tal-lemin tiegħek,

fuq il-bniedem li int qawwejt għalik.

Aħna ma nitbegħdux minnek;

aħjina, u aħna nsejħu ismek.                                      R/

Reading 2     -      1 CORinthians 1:3-9

Brothers and sisters:  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,  that in him you were enriched in every way,  with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift  as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He will keep you firm to the end,  irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful,  and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,  Jesus Christ our Lord.    This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Qari   -   mill-Ewwel Ittra lill-Korintin 1, 3-9

Huti:  Grazzja lilkom u sliem minn Alla Missierna u Sidna Ġesu’ Kristu. Jiena niżżi ħajr dejjem lil Alla tiegħi minħabba fikom  għall-grazzja ta’ Alla li ngħatat lilkom fi Kristu Ġesu’, li  fih intom stagħnejtu f’kollox, f’kull kelma u f’kull għerf,  skond ma x-xhieda ta’ Kristu intom u  tistennew id-dehra ta’Sidna Ġesu Kristu. Huwa hu li jwettakom sa l-aħħar biex tkunu bla  ħtija fil-jum ta’ Sidna Ġesu’ Kristu,   Alla jżomm kelmtu; minnu kontu msejħin biex  tidħlu fix-xirka ta’ Ibnu Sidna Ġesu’ Kristu.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel    -        MarK 13:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert!  You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad.  He leaves home and places his servants in charge,  each with his own work,  and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.  Watch, therefore;  you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,  whether in the evening, or at midnight,  or at cockcrow, or in the morning.  May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.  What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju    -    skond San Mark 13,  33-37

F’dak iż-żmien:  Ġesu’ qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu:  ˝Kunu għajnejkom miftuħa, ishru, għax   ma tafux meta se jasal il-waqt.  Jiġri bħal meta bniedem ikun siefer u telaq mid-dar,  iħalli kollox f’idejn il-qaddejja tiegħu,  kull wieħed fuq xogħlu, u   lil tal-bieb jordnalu biex jibqa’ jishar. Mela ishru, għax ma tafux meta jerġa’ jiġi sid id-dar,  jekk hux fil-għaxija, jew f’nofs il-lejl, jew   x’ħin jidden is-serduk, jew inkella mas-sebħ,  li ma jmurx jiġi għal għarrieda u jsibkom reqdin. U dak li qiegħed ngħid lilkom,  qiegħed ngħidu għal kulħadd, ishru!’’  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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A commentary by Larry Broding

Be Prepared!

What is the greatest hope in life? 

Why don't many people realize their hopes and dreams?

Between immediate gratification and long-term goals lies anticipation, the spirit that gives purpose to our daily routines. We will postpone today's pleasures when we can wait for something better. While we may not change our day to day lives in the short term, focused patience will help us achieve our goals in the long term. Anticipation requires persistence and vigilance.

What do we anticipate at the holidays? Quality family time? More toys? Or, something greater? The coming of the Lord.

To begin this new liturgical cycle, Mark wrote a simple message: Stay awake for the Lord! These passages end Jesus' discourse on the end times. He introduced the destruction of the Temple (13:2, 7-9, 14-20), the persecution of faithful (13:9-13), the rise of the Anti-Christ (13:5-6, 21-23) and the Second Coming (13:24-26). Mark laced the theme of watchfulness throughout the discourse.

In spite of the signs, Jesus urged an attitude, not a special knowledge of the right conditions for the Lord's return. Notice the text does not specify a time frame for the end. A close reading of Mark 13 lists conditions or events that can happen at different times, in different places.

Jesus told his followers to stay awake or keep a night watch. His command in the context of these passages has two implications. First, Jesus urged his followers to look for a future event. In a culture that concentrated only on present (and pressing) conditions, future events were shoved out of mind. What could be put off until tomorrow usually was delayed. When the subject of the end times arose, however, Jesus railed against procrastination. While we moderns may feel comfortable with the future-oriented mentality of his message, Jesus shocked his contemporaries. [13:33]

Second, Jesus implied the keep of a night watch for a house. The term "house" referred to a family as well as a dwelling. [13:34-35] To Mark's audience of now-Jewish Christians, the local faithful met as a house-church. Distant from their Jewish roots and ignored by their contemporaries, Mark's audience gathered in someone's home, like an extended family. The master of the house (i.e., the ascended Lord) may have been gone, but he left everyone with a ministry, including the doorman who barred the door to the outside so all could be safe. (An interesting side note: the doorman or porter in the early church had the power to admit the faithful. He was a lookout, alerting the community to any outside danger. And, like a sergeant-at-arms, he also had the responsibility to maintain order at church functions. The office of porter was an ordained ministry in the Roman Catholic Church until it was suppressed in the late 1960's.) [13:34]

The night of the watch resonated with Mark's community. It symbolized social prejudice and persecution. Alone and afraid, this community looked throughout the dark night for the coming of their Savior, so justice would reign. But, when would the Lord return? Just after the persecution began, in the midst of the troubles, or when the community seemed doomed? The four watches of the night listed in 13:35 (evening or 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M., the middle of the night or 9:00 P.M. to midnight, the cock-crowing time or midnight to 3:00 A.M., and dawn or 3:00 A.M. to 6:00 A.M.) indicated increasing darkness. Symbolically, they symbolized deeper despair or resignation in the community. The community would focus more upon their own problems than an expectation for the Lord. Fear would induce a "sleep," as ministry lost its sense of mission.

(An alternate interpretation saw the darkness of night as complacency in a spiritually dying community. Without focus or purpose, such a community would become exclusive and stagnate. The followers would "fall asleep," and ministry would lose its vitality.) [13:34-35]

No matter how we interpret 13:35, Mark focused upon expectation. How would the returning Lord be welcomed? Would the servants be doing their work? Or would fear and complacency cause a "slumber" in ministry? A ministry either too timid to be of use or on "automatic" is not effective at all. So, Jesus warned against those in ministry would lose their edge. We who serve others should stay vigilant. [13:36-37]

What is your greatest hope for the holidays? How does your hope match God's? (Explain to yourself).

Obviously, our anticipation for the Lord cannot be reduced to a plan or process that will guarantee a certain result. God has his own ways. If we wish to participate in the Lord's plan, anticipate his coming, we need the virtue of patient vigilance. To watch for the Lord in this way requires prayer, reflective discernment, and the gifts and fruits of the Spirit, those charisms that serve others. Prayer opens us to God's will. Reflective discernment helps point us the way of his will. And the gifts God gave us for the good of others help us to realize the Lord in others. When we can see a glimpse of the Lord in our service, we will be able to recognize his return and celebrate it in joy.

What do you want for Christmas? Take a piece of paper and divide it into two columns. Mark one column "Mine" and the other "God's." Now make an honest list of your wants and desires for the holidays. You may be surprised how many things you list under "God's" column. Pray over your list as you prepare for the Christmas. And get ready for the coming of the Lord.