First Sunday of Advent Year C

First Sunday of Advent

Reading I
Jer 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."

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

R. (1b) To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
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.

Reading II
1 Thes 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.

Gospel
Lk 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."

Commentary

The First Reading taken from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah is an oracle regarding the future messiah. Most scholars agree that this section (33:14-26) was the work of a later redactor since it does not appear in the LXX (Septuagint). In this oracle, the redactor replaces “ Israel ” with Jerusalem . It is a solemn affirmation of the permanence of the Davidic monarchy based on Nathan’s prophecy.

In the Second Reading, Paul admonishes the Thessalonians to continue to conduct themselves in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord. Paul and his companions had given them the example when he was with them. Even though the community in Thessalonica is doing this, Paul wants them to make an even greater effort at it. They should act with confidence in this way since they know the instructions that had been given to them by the Apostle.

In today’s Gospel Reading we are given “signs” for the coming of the Son of Man. The "times of the Gentiles" will last until the end; their fulfillment (v. 24) brings Jesus back to the topic of the end of the world. The shaking of the cosmic forces will herald the coming of the end. Then the Son of Man, the risen Lord to whom judgment and authority have been given, will come in God's glory. It will be reason for panic for God's enemies, but the disciples should stand erect, expectant and ready like the people of the Exodus for God's deliverance.

The statement about the present generation does not mean that the end of the world will come before the generation of Jesus passes (that generation had already passed at the time this was written). The emphasis of the statement is on the certainty of the events foretold by Jesus, and probably this means that the first of the events leading to the end of the world (the fall of Jerusalem ) will happen within the experience of the present generation. The word of God, brought in the words of Jesus, bears witness to this prophecy (v. 33). Jesus urges his listeners to act correctly while awaiting his return. His warning is especially against the pleasures and cares of daily life, which lull people into false security. The exhortation to watch and pray foreshadows the same request during Jesus' agony in the garden (22:46).

Reflection

This Sunday we again begin a new liturgical year within the Church. Throughout this year our Gospel readings will focus on Luke. More important, however, is the new liturgical year itself. Just as we look forward to the beginning of a new year come December 31, so too does a new year within the Church bring with it excitement and new expectation. Who among us has not made those "new year resolutions" that normally get forgotten after a few weeks or days? Yet the prospect of a new year brings the hope that things will change for the better, that somehow new hope will come with this new year - a new beginning if you will. During this season of Advent, we prepare to once again receive our Lord. We wait for him with the expectation, excitement and hope that things will be different somehow. It is a time for us to step back and look closely at our relationship with Jesus Christ, but it is also a time for vigilance.

At the time of his birth in Bethlehem , an entire nation awaited their Messiah. They hoped for a change, but many were not vigilant enough to recognize that their prayers had been realized in the person of Jesus Christ. They had lost the vision to see with clarity what God was revealing to them. In reality, they could not recognize who Jesus was because he did not fit in to their misconceived image of what the Messiah should be. Jesus too was aware of this and that is why in last week's Gospel he made it clear that many had failed to recognize him and had not served him as they should, because they failed to serve others. Let this Advent be a time of renewal. A time when we allow God to work in us and through us; a time for us to prepare ourselves to receive the true Jesus Christ whose love was so great that he became one of us and lived among us in order to transform us. And, there is no better way to do this than remaining vigilant and doing those good works that Christ himself did and requested of us, that in doing so we may recognize him in others. If we fail to recognize him in others, we may fail to recognize him at all.

Biblical Sources

New American Bible; Brown, R. K., and Comfort, P. W. (trans.) and Douglas, J. D., (ed.) “The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament”; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Holladay, W. L., “Jeremiah 1”; Hyatt, J. P., “The Book of Jeremiah”; McKane, W., “A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Jeremiah: Jeremiah I-XXV”; Sánchez-Bosch, J., “Escritos Paulinos”; Fitzmyer, J. A., “The Gospel According to Luke”; LaVerdiere, E., “Luke”; “The Collegeville Bible Commentary”; Brown, Raymond E., S.S., “Introduction to the New Testament”; Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy (ed.) “The New Jerome Biblical Commentary”.

Reflection by

Deacon Lazaro J. Ulloa