Commentary: Today we begin a new liturgical year with the start of Advent. The season of Advent is a penitential one focused on preparing us for the celebration of the Incarnation (i.e. God becoming man) at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the end of time. This passage from Isaiah helps remind us of the penitential nature of this season. It is, in fact, a call to repentance and a plea to God for His forgiveness. We hear in this passage that God is “our father” and “our redeemer.” God loves us with an infinite love. He wants to save us from our sin. He wants to, as the potter, mold us, His clay, into who He wants us to be. Yet, we often “wander” and “harden our hearts.” The truth is that we are a sinful people. We all disobey God’s commands and turn a blind eye to His will for us. We are all guilty of turning away from God. Still, God can welcome us back. God can offer us His grace and forgiveness to restore us to Him. The question is, will we let Him? God’s mercy is endless but we are often reluctant to ask for it. During this Advent season, let us stop and examine our conscience, reflecting on where we have fallen short and ask for God’s forgiveness for our sins.
Commentary: Here we learn a couple important things about thankfulness from the Apostle Paul. First, we ought to follow his example of giving thanks for our brothers and sisters in Christ. In other words, let us thank God for the blessing of being a part of His Church and experiencing the richness of being united with other Christians in the family of God. We should also thank God for the many blessings He pours out upon others. Second, we see here that the ultimate blessing to be thankful for is the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. God’s grace is given to us through Christ and the Church to bring us to eternal life with Him. Jesus came and died in order to save us from sin and bring us to life. We can experience that new life through the sacraments and faith, allowing God’s grace to pour into our lives and bear good fruit. There is no greater gift than the grace and forgiveness God offers us in Jesus Christ. Therefore, let us thank God for salvation and being a part of His family this Advent, as we “wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This season of Advent calls for us to prepare for Christ’s second coming, as we prepare for the commemoration of His first coming at Christmas. One of the best ways to prepare is to be thankful for all that God has given us.
Commentary: Now that we are into a new liturgical year we transition into Cycle B readings. During this cycle we focus on the Gospel of Mark (Cycle A was the Gospel of Matthew and Cycle C is the Gospel of Luke, with the Gospel of John being interspersed). In today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark we hear about the return of Christ. Jesus affirms that we will not know when His return will be. Therefore, we should not get caught up in predictions of His return as, unfortunately, many people have made throughout history and especially in recent years. Trying to predict the time of His return is pointless and only serves to distract us from the point of Jesus’ words here and elsewhere about His second come: prepare! Jesus wants us to be ready for His return. We are to be “alert” and “watchful.” That means we are to be focused on the Lord. It’s easy in our society to get distracted. There are hundreds of things pulling us in different directions, especially this time of year, so we can easily lose focus of what’s most important: our faith. During Advent, we are called to focus on our relationship with God. We are called, in particular, to repent of sins and receive God’s forgiveness. That way, we can be ready when Jesus comes. While Jesus is away (like the traveling man in the Gospel), what are we doing with what He has given us? Are we working diligently to fulfill what He asks us to do? Or are we sleeping and, therefore, not paying attention to God’s will? We cannot know when Jesus will return but we can ensure that when He comes His house will not be in shambles. We should prepare our hearts by turning from sin and turning to God this Advent.
Taking it Home:
Take time this week to do an examination of conscience, reflecting on where you have fallen short in serving God. Then, visit the Sacrament of Reconciliation to confess those sins. God is waiting there to offer you His grace and forgiveness.
If Jesus were to return today, would you be ready? Would he find His “house” (i.e. your life) in shambles or in good order? What do you need to do in order to prepare your heart for Christ’s return? Maybe it’s time to do some housecleaning and ready yourself to welcome Christ.