First
Sunday of Advent
L-Ewwel Ħadd ta' l-Avvent
Messalin A pp 63
Reading
ISaiah 2:1-5
This
is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah
and Jerusalem Zion shall go forth
instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
Qari
mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 2, 1-5
Il-kelma li ġiet f'dehra lil Isaija bin Amos, dwar Ġuda u Ġerusalemm. Għad
jiġri fl-aħħar jiem li l-għolja
tad-dar tal-Mulej togħla
'l fuq mill-qċaċet tal-muntanji, u tintrefa' 'l fuq
mill-għoljiet, lejha għad jiġru l-ġnus kollha.
Kotra ta' popli għad jiġu u jgħidu: "Ħalli
mmorru u nitilgħu fuq l-għolja tal-Mulej, lejn id-dar ta' Alla
ta' Ġakobb, biex jgħallimna triqatu, u nimxu fil-mogħdijiet tiegħu." Għad
min Sijon joħroġ it-tagħlim u l-kelma tal-Mulej minn
Responsorial Psalm
PSalm 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. Let
us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem. R/
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem. R/
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD. R/
According to the decree for
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David. R/
Pray for the peace of
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings. R/
Because of my brothers and friends
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good. R/
Salm Responsorjali -
SALM
121 (122)
R/ Immorru
ferħana f'dar il-Mulej
Fraħt meta qaluli:
"Sejrin
f'dar il-Mulej!"
Diġa qegħdin riġlejna
fi bwiebek Ġerusalemm! R/
Lejha
t-tribujiet jitilgħu,
it-tribujiet
tal-Mulej,
biex, skond il-liġi
ta' Iżrael,
ifaħħru
isem il-Mulej.
Għax
hekk twaqqfu t-tronijiet tal-ħaqq,
it-tronijiet tad-dar ta'
David. R\
Itolbu s-sliem għal
Ġerusalemm:
Ħa jkollhom
is-sliem dawk kollha li jħobbuk!
Ħa jkun
hemm is-sliem ġewwa l-ħitan
tiegħek,
u l-ġid
fil-palazzi tiegħek. R/
Minħabba ħuti u ħbiebi,
ħallini ngħidlek:
"Is-sliem għalik!"
Minħabba
f'dar il-Mulej, Alla tagħna,
nixtieq illi jkollok il-ġid. R/
Reading
ROMans 13:11-14
Brothers
and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.
For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is
advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and
put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not
in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and
jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the
desires of the flesh. This is the Word of
The Lord.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni
Qari
mill-Ittra ta' San Pawl Appostlu lir-Ruman 13,
11-14a
Ħuti,
waslet is-siegħa li intom tqumu min-ngħas;
għax is-salvazzjoni tagħna
hi eqreb minn
Gospel
MatThew 24:37-44
Jesus
said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the
coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came
and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two
men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the
mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not
know on which day your Lord will come. Be
sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the
thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken
into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the
Son of Man will come.” This is
the Word of The Lord.
L-Evanġelju
Qari
mill-Evanġelju
skond San Mattew 24, 37-44
F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal
lid-dixxipli tiegħu: "Bħal
fi żmien Noe',
hekk tkun il-miġja ta' Bin il-bniedem. Għax
kif fiż-żmien ta' qabel id-dilluvju kienu
jieklu u jixorbu, jiżżewġu
u jżewġu
sa dakinhar li Noe' daħal fl-arka, u b'xejn ma'
ntebħu sa ma wasal id-dilluvju u ġarr
lil kulħadd, hekk tkun il-miġja
ta' Bin il-bniedem. Imbagħad tnejn ikunu fl-għalqa:
wieħed jittieħed u l-ieħor
jitħalla; żewġ
nisa jkunu jitħnu flimkien: waħda
titieħed u l-oħra
titħalla. Ishru,
mela, għax ma tafux il-jum li fih jiġi
Sidkom. Kunu afu dan, li kieku sid
id-dar kellu jkun jaf f'liema sahra
tal-lejl se jiġi l-ħalliel,
kien jishar u ma jħallix min jinfidlu l-ħitan
ta' daru. Mela kunu lesti intom ukoll,
għax qatt ma tistgħu tobsru s-siegħa
li fiha jiġi Bin il-bniedem." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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Commentary:
Advent: A Time to Wake from our
Hypnotic Sleep
The Advent season
in its liturgical observance is devoted to the coming of God at the end of
history when Jesus shall reign as king. The time is chiefly a celebration
of “the coming of God” in ultimate triumph. Our three Scripture readings
for the First Sunday of Advent (Year A) challenge us to adopt a timetable in
which the seemingly distant parousia (final coming) impinges on the present
moment.
An
unexpected vision of salvation
The first reading
from the prophet Isaiah [2:1-5] sends chills up and down our spines
today. The prophet describes a beautiful and rather unexpected vision of
universal salvation, justice and peace, not only for Jerusalem
and the Holy Land , but for all of humanity. In the messianic kingdom the prophets
generally see the Lord’s house as the seat of authority and the source of clear
and certain doctrine; also, its rule willingly accepted by all peoples,
maintained by spiritual sanctions, and tending to universal peace. This passage
is found substantially unchanged in Micah 4:1-3; it probably, although not
certainly, has Isaiah as its author.
The Isaiah
reading is very fitting to begin the Advent season, for we are truly on
pilgrimage during the next few weeks – making our long and tedious journey up
to the Lord, in order that we may pay him homage and recognize in the Child of
Bethlehem just to what degree God would go to show us his love.
Awaking
from our hypnotic conditions
In the second
reading from St. Paul Rome
The Greek word
for sleep is hypnos, (11) and while
we cannot attribute the full notion of being “hypnotized” to Paul himself in
this text, it is nonetheless true that we can become so accustomed to the
normalcy of evil that we live under its spell, as if hypnotized by a power
outside ourselves that we cannot discern or dislodge ourselves. It is good for
us during Advent to ask: “What are the hypnotic conditions that we experience
without our consciousness of them?” The sins of the “flesh” (v. 14) are not
only sexual sins, but anything that opposes the life-giving work of the Spirit
begun in Christ. Instead of planning for night time behaviour they should
be concentrating on conduct that is consonant with avowed interest in the
Lord’s return.
In
the days of Noah
In Sunday’s
Gospel reading from Matthew [24:37-44], Noah’s contemporaries were unprepared
for the flood. They ate and drank and married. They didn’t dream of an event
that would mark the end of time as they knew it. The people of Noah’s time were
so caught up in everyday affairs that they failed to take precautions against
the flood. Three parables are told to remind us of the necessity of
vigilance–because the Second Coming has no “estimated time of arrival.”
In the verses:
“Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be
left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one
will be left” [40-41], the former probably means taken into the kingdom; the
latter, left for destruction. People in the same situation will be dealt with
in opposite ways. In this context, the discrimination between them will be
based on their readiness for the coming of the Son of Man. The theme of
vigilance and readiness is continued with the bold comparison of the Son of Man
to a thief who comes to break into a house [vv 42-44].
Centrality
of time
Time is central
to the Christian celebration of Advent. This season reminds us that the
mystery of faith is not complete until Jesus’ Second Coming. We are
living in this in-between time of Resurrection-Ascension-Pentecost and the time
of the Parousia. How do we deal
with the issue of time? Christ has given us warning of such an event
coming. We can’t say, “We had no idea,” as the people said up to the day
that Noah went into the ark and closed the door.
We need to be
ready and we need to be awake. Just like a security alarm wakes up a
homeowner, Advent wakes up Christians who are in danger of sleeping through
their lives. If we are no longer asking the hard questions and if we are
no longer getting our answers from God through his Scriptures, then it is time
to wake up! Advent asks us to be aware of responsibilities and see to
their fulfilment! Advent challenges us to attend to relationships, reach
out to the needy, cherish the gift of human life, and make time for
prayer! The Second Coming thus becomes an event that gives purpose and
energy to our every breath and pulse here and now.
The
coming of Christ
Advent does not
change God. Advent deepens our longing and anticipation that God will do
what prophets and the anointed have promised. We pray that God will yield
to our greedy need to see and feel the promise of salvation here and now.
As Christians, we proclaim the coming of Christ – not just a first coming but
another as well that will be far more glorious than the first. The first
took place under the sign of patient suffering; the second, on the contrary,
will see Christ wearing the crown of God’s kingdom. In the meantime,
however, there is the painful necessity of the cross for Jesus and all
believers in him.
Taking
stock of human life
As we begin this
holy season of longing and waiting for the Messiah, let us take stock of human
life and not become like the people of Noah’s time who were so caught up in
everyday affairs that they failed to take precautions against the flood.
Advent reminds us that it is no longer business as usual. Something new
is about to happen.
Let us pray
during these days of Advent: May God, the Father of Life have mercy on
all who have sinned against life. May the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
and Jesus, who knit us in our mother’s womb, preserve all infants from physical
harm from the moment of conception.
May Jesus, Son of
God and son of Mary, who ennobled all human life when he became flesh in the
womb of the Daughter of Zion, enlighten our minds to see the dignity of every
human life from its earliest moments.
May Jesus of
Nazareth who loved the afflicted, the sick, the broken and those who mourn,
strengthen parents of unborn children with disabilities to cherish the infant
entrusted to their care.
May the Lord who
forgives sinners each day, draw all who have acted against innocent human life
to repentance and forgiveness, and heal them through an outpouring of grace.
May the God of
Israel increase our longing for Christ our Savior and give us the strength to
grow in love, that the dawn of his coming may find us rejoicing in his presence
and welcoming the light of his truth.
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