DAILY- HOMILY

NOVEMBER 28, 2010
1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT – A

ISAIAH 2:1-5
The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It
will happen in the final days that the mountain of Yahweh's house will
rise higher than the mountains and tower above the heights. Then all
the nations will stream to it, many peoples will come to it and say,
'Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God
of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his
paths.' For the Law will issue from Zion and the word of Yahweh from
Jerusalem. Then he will judge between the nations and arbitrate
between many peoples. They will hammer their swords into ploughshares
and their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift sword against
nation, no longer will they learn how to make war. House of Jacob,
come, let us walk in Yahweh's light.

ROMANS 13:11-14
Besides, you know the time has come; the moment is here for you to
stop sleeping and wake up, because by now our salvation is nearer than
when we first began to believe. The night is nearly over, daylight is
on the way; so let us throw off everything that belongs to the
darkness and equip ourselves for the light. Let us live decently, as
in the light of day; with no orgies or drunkenness, no promiscuity or
licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy. Let your armour be the
Lord Jesus Christ, and stop worrying about how your disordered natural
inclinations may be fulfilled.

MATTHEW 24:37-44
'As it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of man comes. For
in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking
wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark,
and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept them all
away. This is what it will be like when the Son of man comes. Then of
two men in the fields, one is taken, one left; of two women grinding
at the mill, one is taken, one left. 'So stay awake, because you do
not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of
this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the
burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have
allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you
too must stand ready because the Son of man is coming at an hour you
do not expect.

REFLECTION
Advent can be confusing. The Lord has come and yet we prepare for his
coming. He is risen and still we ready a crib for him. We rejoice that
he lives within us, and yet we clothe ourselves in purple vestments,
the sign of mourning. Has the day of the Lord dawned or hasn't it? Is
Advent make-believe? Are we pretending that Lord Jesus has not yet
come?

The fact is that Advent expresses in symbol and ritual three stages in
the human journey, in the Christian journey. Christ has come; Christ
will come again; and Christ is here now. In Advent, we remember the
first; we look to the second; and we live the third. All three are par
t and parcel of our lives; and so all three have to find expression in
our liturgy.

First, Advent is a remembering. We recapture what a whole people, a
special people, a loved people lived for centuries. Isaiah speaks of a
people who walked in darkness, who dwelt in a land of deep darkness.
Into this darkness the light shone one midnight clear. That light was
not some flickering flame; it was a person, the Son of God born in
human flesh. This light was put out on Calvary but it was re-lighted
at Easter dawn for our redemption. This is what our liturgy remembers.

Second, Advent not only looks back, it also looks ahead. We not only
recall Christ's first coming, we anticipate his final coming. The
trouble is that the final coming of Jesus at the end time is wrapped
in darkness. We do not know when Jesus will come again in glory nor do
we know how he will come. We know only that Christ will come again and
that when he comes, the power of evil will be swept away, and then his
kingdom will come in its eternal richness.

When Scripture focuses its attention on Christ's final coming, the
stress is not on when and how it will take place. These are
interesting issues but they are not crucial. Two questions are
crucial.

First, whenever Christ comes, however he comes, will we be ready?
Second, how are we getting ready for Christ's return, how are we
preparing God's Kingdom? It is precisely here that we have to pay the
greatest attention. We not only look back on the first coming of
Christ and look forward to his final coming. We are not caught between
a past that is gone and a future not yet here. What links yesterday
and tomorrow is today. We are to live now a life that Christ's first
coming made possible. By living that life now, we prepare for his
final coming. He is no longer in a crib of straw and not yet on the
clouds of glory. But he is here. The light shines in the darkness now.
But does it really? Oh yes, Christ is here; my faith affirms it. We
gather together in his name, and so he is here amongst us. We proclaim
his word, and that word takes flesh, the flesh of the Word.

What precisely are the areas of darkness within you? What is it that
keeps you from lighting up with the grace that is there? Does Christ
radiate, shine forth, from your daily life? Is there something that
you will not let go, even though it torments you? Is there a dark side
of you that you refuse to face? Simply, how dark is your darkness, and
why?

Here is your Advent: Make the Christ who has come a reality, a living
light, in your life and in some other life. Give of yourself to one
dark soul with no conditions. Light one little candle in the darkness
of your own corner of the world and you will be walking as a child of
light.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Vicky Fabella
- Susan
… for good health: Lydia, Kevin Francis Christian, Kwai, Pamela,
Darlita, Keempee and Godofredo Pe
… for the personal intentions of
- Francis Torres
- Josheil Dapo
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Atty. Beth De Villa
- Thanksgiving: Tony Sanchez & Family
- In Memoriam (+): Faustino V. Canchela
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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