Homily
of First Sunday of Advent Year C
The
meaning of Advent Wreath: Circle symbolizes eternity of God. Green
wreath symbolizes life everlasting. Candle light symbolizes Jesus
Christ, the light of the world. Four candles in circle symbolize the
four weeks of Advent. 1st purple candle symbolizes hope. 2nd
purple candle symbolizes peace. 3rd pink candle
symbolizes joy. 4th purple candle symbolizes love. Purple
color foreshadows the royalty of Jesus. For Advent, purple is not a sign of
suffering and mourning as in Lent. The 5th white candle in
the middle represents the birth of Christ.
This
Sunday marks the beginning of the Advent Season and a new liturgical year. We
are, now, in Cycle C. Advent is observed in the Catholic Church as a time of
expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus
Christ. Ordinarily, almost everybody, Christians and non-Christians alike,
prepare for the celebration of Christmas. Business establishments started their
preparation for Christmas business deals months ago. There is, usually, so much
external preparation. For us Catholics, spiritual preparation is more
important. When you are expecting a visitor, you will get your house in order,
you will get food and drink ready, and you will also be clean and well dressed.
If the house is in order, and food and drink well prepared and arranged, but
the host appears unkempt and shabby, the visitor will be embarrassed and may
not stay for the meal. That is why spiritual preparation is necessary, so that
there will be an inn for Jesus in our life this Christmas. Spiritual
preparation makes every Christmas become the first Christmas. As part of the
spiritual preparation, there will be an Advent Penitential Service on Monday,
December 17, 2017, at 6:30pm.
The theme
of the first week of Advent is hope. Hope means trust, faith, and confidence
for a desire to happen. Our ultimate hope and desire is that through our
spiritual preparations during the Advent we will experience the blessings of
the commemoration of the birth of Christ. St. Paul tells us that this type of
hope does not disappoint (Romans 5:5).
A lesson
Jesus teaches about waiting in Luke 12:37-38 comes to mind, “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a
wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his
arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table,
and proceed to wait on them. And
should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.” In today’s Gospel Jesus tells
us that while waiting, our hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and
drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life. Rather, we should be vigilant at
all times and pray for strength.
In our hopeful waiting, St. Paul prays for us in the second
reading, “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and
for all… so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before
God and Father…”
While we are waiting in hope for a new experience of the birth of
Christ, the first week of Advent requires us to become instruments of hope to
others. We are to share love with them and strengthen their hearts as St. Paul
prays in the second reading. As Jesus is the hope for humanity, we, his
followers, are to be signs of hope to our brothers and sisters. It is by so
doing that the season of Advent properly begins. The prayer of St. Francis
says, “Where there is despair, let me sow hope.” This is our prayer and action
point this week.
Fr. Martin Eke, MSP
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