BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD ( # 1)
First Sunday of Advent, Year C – November 30, 2003
BIBLE READINGS
Jer 33:14-16 // I Thess 3:12-4:2 // Lk 21:25-28, 34-36
July 16, 1990: A terrible earthquake jolted the island of Luzon in the Philippines and wrought havoc and misery. People were entombed alive in the collapsed buildings. One young man was buried two weeks in the basement of a ruined hotel in Baguio City. On the 13th day he lost hope of being rescued and decided to hasten his death. He started to bang his head viciously against a concrete slab, but a pair of invisible hands gently restrained him from killing himself. A serene feeling took hold of him and there was the assurance that redemption was at hand. He relaxed his battered body on the cold slab. On the 14th day the rescuers found him and were able to break through. He was liberated from his tomb of death. As he weakly mouthed his words of thanks (“Salamat! Salamat!”) to the rescuers, his family and friends wept for joy. The young man’s advent expectation for redemption was fulfilled.
With the First Sunday of Advent we begin a new liturgical year – a year of grace – with its renewed assurance that our redemption is at hand. As we celebrate the entire arc of salvation history through the year, the grace of radical redemption won for us by Jesus Christ in his Paschal Mystery progressively unfolds and makes itself present anew into the “here and now” of our life, until the day of cosmic “christification”, when Christ will be all in all. Indeed, the liturgical year is the “sacrament” or “sacred sign” of Christ’s redeeming act in time.
The Advent season of grace begins with apocalyptic images: “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 waves …” (Lk 21:25). These cataclysmic images are not meant to frighten us, but rather, an invitation for us to open ourselves to the saving intervention of Christ and the grace of his kingdom. According to the biblical scholar, Samuel Oyin Abugunrin: “The scene of the last days is described in vivid apocalyptic language and imagery. What Jesus is certainly saying is that there will be sudden and violent changes in creation that will lead to the emergence of a new order … In the midst of this distress the Son of Man will appear in glory, that is, in royal power and majesty. The command ‘stand up and raise your heads’ is peculiar to Luke (21:28). Jesus tells his followers not to panic when they see strange signs occurring; rather they should regard the signs as a prelude to the redemptive final consummation of the salvation worked by Christ on the cross.”
Indeed, the awesome scene of the coming of the Son of Man at the end of the world is a radical call to open our hearts to Christ’s redeeming love and to the pursuit of his kingdom. According to Dianne Bergant: “The redemption that he brings requires that we embrace a different way of living; our former world must be brought to an end so that a new world can take shape, and such a radical change can be terrifying.” The faithful Christian disciples have nothing to dread in the saving event of Christ’s final coming, which will avow his victory and lordship as redeeming Master. They look forward with expectation to the Advent message of confidence and hope: “Your redemption is near!” (Lk 21:28). The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 1, assert: “From the perspective of looking toward the end of things, we are able to look critically at our present time, to discern what really matters today, to engage in our daily work with courage and assurance.”
The Church’s Advent preparation for the ultimate coming of the redeeming Lord at the end time (parousia) is based on his other comings in history and in our personal lives. St. Bernard explains: “His First Coming was in the flesh and weakness; the intermediary coming is in the spirit and in power; the last coming will be in glory and majesty.” In our celebration and preparation for the different advents of Christ - the “just shoot” of David - in our lives and history, let us allow him to strengthen our hearts and strive to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father (cf. I Thess 3:12-4:2). Indeed, the “people of the promise” who look forward to the advent of Christ at the parousia are filled with the spiritual strength that comes from the experience of Christ’s historical coming in the mystery of Incarnation and his spiritual coming in our daily lives. From their grateful remembrance of his First Coming and their affectionate experience of his everyday coming in our personal lives, the Christian disciples look forward with joy to the Final Coming of the Son of Man at the end time.
According to Harold Buetow, in this season of Advent our waiting has the following characteristics: “There will be some anxiety, surely. But mostly there will be eagerness, as there is when we go to meet a loved one. There will be a glow of expectancy that’s similar to that of a woman waiting the birth of her baby, or that of children before a Christmas crib.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Leader: Father, foundation of our faith, when we contemplate with gratitude the historical coming of Christ, the “just shoot” of David, in our lives: help us to trust in the Advent message:
Assembly: “Your redemption is at hand.”
Leader: Father, wellspring of love, when we strive to see the face of Jesus in the poor and needy and when we welcome his daily coming through all the graces of friendships and opportunities he gives us: help us to trust in the Advent message …
Assembly: “Your redemption is at hand.”
Leader: Father, font of hope, in the midst of the travails and miseries of today’s world and the convulsions of your beloved creation: make us realize that they are a prelude to the Son of Man’s final coming and help us to trust in the Advent message …
Assembly: “Your redemption is at hand.”
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Your redemption is at hand.” (Lk 21:28)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
Prepared by: Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang, PDDM