To be blameless in holiness before our God and Father

Lectionary: 3

L-Ewwel Ħadd tal-Avvent

Reading 1     =   JERemiah 33:14-16

The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise  I made to the house of Israel and Judah. In those days, in that time,  I will raise up for David a just shoot ;  he shall do what is right and just in the land. In those days Judah shall be safe  and Jerusalem shall dwell secure;  this is what they shall call her:  “The LORD our justice.”  This is the Word of the Lord.

 Qari I  =  mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Ġeremija 33, 14-16

Ara, għad jiġu jiem – oraklu tal-Mulej – meta nġib fuq dar Iżrael u dar Ġuda l-ġid li wegħedthom. F’dawk il-jiem u f’dak iż-żmien intalla’ min-nisel ta’ David rimja tas-sewwa, bniedem li jagħmel il-ġustizzja u s-sewwa fil-pajjiż. F’dawk il-jiem Ġuda jinħeles u Ġerusalemm tgħammar b’moħħha mistrieħ, u għalhekk isejħulha: Il-Mulej is-sewwa tagħna. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm    =   PSalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
and for you I wait all the day. 
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way. 
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction. 
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Salm Responsorjali     =   SALM 24 (25), 4bċ-5ab. 8-9.10.14

R/. (1b): Lejk jien nerfa’ ruħi, Mulej

Triqatek, Mulej, għarrafni,

il-mogħdijiet tiegħek għallimni.

Mexxini fis-sewwa tiegħek u għallimni,

għax int Alla tas-salvazzjoni tiegħi. R/.

Tajjeb u sewwa l-Mulej;

għalhekk juri triqtu lill-ħatja.

Imexxi l-imsejkna fis-sewwa,

jgħallem lill-fqajrin it-triq tiegħu.  R/.

Il-mogħdijiet tal-Mulej kollhom tjieba u fedeltà

għal min iħares il-patt u l-liġijiet tiegħu.

Midħla l-Mulej ta’ dawk li jibżgħu minnu,

lilhom jgħarraf il-patt tiegħu.        R/.

Reading 2    =    1 THESsalonians 3:12—4:2

Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you,  so as to strengthen your hearts,  to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father  at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen. Finally, brothers and sisters, we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us  how you should conduct yourselves to please God and as you are conducting yourselves you do so even more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.  This is the Word of the Lord.

Qari I   =   mill-1 Ittra lit-Tessalonikin 3, 12 – 4, 2

Ħuti, jalla l-Mulej ikattrilkom u jfawwarkom bl-imħabba għal xulxin u lejn kulħadd, l-istess bħalma aħna nħobbu lilkom, ħalli jqawwilkom qalbkom u jkollkom qdusija bla għajb quddiem Alla, Missierna, għal meta jiġi Sidna Ġesù mdawwar bil-qaddisin tiegħu. Fl-aħħar, ħuti, intom tgħallimtu mingħandna kif għandkom timxu biex togħġbu lil Alla, kif tabilħaqq qegħdin iġġibu ruħkom; aħna f’Sidna Ġesù nitolbukom u nħeġġukom biex tagħmlu xi ħaġa iżjed. Tafu x’tagħlim tajniekom permezz ta’ Sidna Ġesù. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej     

      

Gospel       LuKe 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man  coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times  and pray that you have the strength  to escape the tribulations that are imminent  and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Evanġelju  =  Qari skont San Luqa 21, 25-28.34-36

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: “Ikun hemm sinjali fix-xemx u l-qamar u l-kwiekeb. Il-ġnus fuq l-art, b’qalbhom ittaqtaq, ma jafux x’jaqbdu jagħmlu minħabba l-ħsejjes tal-baħar u tal-imwieġ; in-nies ruħhom ħierġa bil-biża’ billi jobsru x’ikun ġej fuq id-dinja, għax il-qawwiet tas-smewwiet jitqallbu. Imbagħad jaraw lil Bin il-bniedem ġej fi sħaba, b’qawwa u glorja kbira. Meta jibda jseħħ dan kollu, qawwu qalbkom u erfgħu raskom, għax il-fidwa tagħkom hi fil-qrib. Oqogħdu attenti, u qisu li l-ikel u x-xorb żejjed u s-sokor ma jmewtulkomx qalbkom, u tħallux li l-ħafna tħassib għall-ħtiġiet tal-ħajja jeħdilkom raskom, li ma ssibuhx dak il-Jum fuqkom għal għarrieda. Għax hu Jum li għad jaqa’ bħal nassa fuq kull min jgħammar fuq wiċċ l-art kollha. Ishru, mela, u itolbu l-ħin kollu, biex tkunu tifilħu tgħaddu minn kulma għandu jiġri u tieqfu quddiem Bin il-bniedem”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Those who watch for Christ

A reflection by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB

Every now and then when the world seems to be falling apart and problems appear to be insurmountable, I recall with gratitude the heroes of the Velvet Revolution who helped to bring down the reign of Communism in November and December of 1989. I cherish the words of hope of former Czech president Vaclav Havel, during his days of imprisonment. Those words captivated the imagination of many people as we witnessed the Communist regime finally come to an end:

The more unpropitious the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper that hope is. Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. In short, I think that the deepest and most important form of hope, the only one that can keep us above water and urge us to good works, and the only true source of the breathtaking dimension of the human spirit and its efforts is something we get, as it were, from “elsewhere.”

I also turn frequently to the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s section on “The Theological Virtues” and read the paragraphs on hope (#1817-1821) to find peace of mind and heart. I have been particularly struck by the thoughts found in #1818:

“The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men’s activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.”

Day-to-day following of Jesus

Such thoughts are important for us as we enter the season of Advent with a bang – this year with a section from Luke’s chapter on the end times! In Sunday’s Gospel story (21:25-28, 34-36), we can see, hear, and feel Jesus’ eschatological discourse as contained in Mark 13. The actual destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, upon which Luke and his community look back in 21:20-24, provides the assurance that, just as Jesus’ prediction of Jerusalem’s destruction was fulfilled, so too will be his announcement of its final redemption (21:27-28).

The evangelist Luke has made some significant alterations to Mark’s description of the end times. Luke maintains the belief in an imminent end of the age but, by focusing attention throughout his Gospel on the importance of the day-to-day following of Jesus and by reinterpreting the meaning of certain signs of the end from Mark 13, he has come to terms with what seemed to the early Christian community to be a delay of the Parousia (Second Coming). In dealing with the persecution of the disciples (21:12-19) and the destruction of Jerusalem (21:20-24), Luke is pointing to eschatological signs that have already been fulfilled.

The central message of Christianity does not consist in knowing the exact details of the end of the world. As a matter of fact, there are very few specifics about the future in Jesus’ preaching other than that God is going to accomplish his purpose and he’s going to accomplish it through Jesus. Whenever my students ask me about the Second Coming, I always tell them that I suspect it’s going to be as big a surprise as the first coming was. It is in God’s hands. God will bring about his Kingdom in his own way and that is what is most important.

Blameless in holiness

In the second reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians (3:12-4:2), we encounter Paul trying to strengthen his Thessalonian converts in their new faith about twenty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. For Paul, an essential part of the Christian message was the Parousia, or the Second Coming. Without that event, the drama of salvation is incomplete. Paul believed that theParousia was imminent, but preparation was required. Paul asked two things of the early Christians: (1) an increase in mutual and universal love; and (2) the attainment of the Christian goal. This goal was holiness expressed in loving concern for one another. Holiness would be achieved through daily, ordinary acts of goodness, kindness, charity, and hope.

The work of Advent

Advent confronts us and wakes us from our stupor. What is the work of Advent for each of us this year? We are invited to quietly prepare our hearts and our lives for the coming of the ever-greater one in the flesh. For what or for whom are we waiting in life? What virtues or gifts are we praying to receive this year? What material things do we seek? The people, qualities, things we await give us great insights into who we are. Advent, far from being a penitential time or a time of despair, is a time of rejoicing in hope and a time of patient waiting. God knows how impatient we are as a people and as individuals. Nevertheless, patience is a blessed virtue for which we should pray during Advent.

Long ago St. Cyril of Jerusalem wrote that almost everything about our Lord Jesus Christ is twofold:

He has two births: one from God before the ages, the other from the Virgin at the end of all ages. He has two comings: the one is hidden and resembles the falling of the dew upon a fleece; the other – the future one – on the contrary will be manifest. At his first coming, he was wrapped in linens and laid in a manger; at the second, light shall be his robe. In the first coming he endured the Cross, heedless of its shame; in his second coming he will be in glory surrounded by an army of angels. Let us therefore not stop at his first coming but look forward to the second. We hailed him at his first coming with the words, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” And we shall hail him in the same way at his second coming. For we shall go out to meet the Lord and his angels, and, prostrating ourselves before him, we shall cry, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

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. Advent teaches us that there are two ways of looking at history: one is sociological and the other is religious. The first,chronos, is essentially unredeemed and cyclic. The second, kairos, is redeemed by God in Christ Jesus and becomes the occasion of providence and sacrament.

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