Homily For First Sunday of Advent Year A, 27th November, 2022

Readings: Is. 2:1-5; Ps.122; Romans 13:11-14; Matt. 24:37-44

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

IS TIME TO CAST OFF THE WORKS OF DARKNESS AND PUT ON THE ARMOUR OF LIGHT FOR THE DAY OF THE LORD IS CLOSE AT HAND

Today is the beginning of another liturgical circle in the liturgical calendar of the Church. Given that every first Sunday of Advent that comes after the celebration of Christ the Universal King that end the liturgical circle in year C, the Church begins another liturgical year within the three years of A, B and C. So today we are beginning the liturgical circle with year A in the Holy season of Advent. The season of Advent as we know is one of the most important season in the life of every Christian. The word Advent comes from the Latin root, Adventus, which means ‘arrival’ though from the root word advenire whereby “ad”  means ‘to’ and venire means ‘come’ that is, “to come” or “the coming of someone great”. 

Moreover, Advent season is a period of intense preparations and a time of waiting in hope for the coming of the Lord which is in two folds: first the coming of the Lord as the Messiah that is the birth of Jesus at Christmas. And secondly, the return of Jesus at the Second Coming “ the parousia”. This is why Advent season is divided into two parts. The first which runs from the first Sunday until 16th of December dwells on the second coming of Christ which is regarded as the eschatological aspect of Advent. While the second aspect which focuses on the first coming of Christ at Bethlehem runs from 17th -24th December.

Hence, Advent is a season characterized with four major themes which include: ‘Hope’, ‘Peace’, ‘Joy’ and ‘Love’. So, on this first week of Advent our focus is on hope and preparation. A joyful hope that prepares us for the coming of our Saviour who is our hope. Thus, as we anticipate the birth of Christ who is the source of our salvation, our hope and the Light that dispels the darkness of this world, it is our duty as Christians to keep hope alive in the world, for as long as there is hope, no situation is impossible.

But what should be our disposition this Holy season of Advent? Our disposition should be the one of watchful expectation in order to recognize the Lord and be at peace with him when he comes. We are to be ready and prepared to welcome him with joy in our daily lives. Hence, this is the season of reconciliation between us and God and also with one another. It is a season when we have to reexamine our way of life. It is a time of reconfiguration of our lives to that of Christ.

 It is also a season to take stock of what we have done and what we are going to do from now onwards. This is important because our disposition to welcoming the Lord take place by our ways of doing things, our desire for conversion and holiness, which shapes our lives more to that of Christ who showers his love, mercy and compassion to all.

This is what the readings of this season calls our attention to, especially in the two fold coming of Christ as we have it in today’s readings. For in the first reading today, we heard prophet Isaiah saying: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. 

And we heard St. Paul in our second reading saying: brethren, you know what hour it is now, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted. The night is far gone, the daylight is at hand. let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day: not in revelling and drunkenness, no more promiscuity or licentiousness, and no more quarrelling or jealousy. Let us put on the armour of Christ and make no provision for the flesh.

While in the Gospel the Lord Jesus urges us to be awake at all times for our salvation is very near so that we will not be taken by surprise and unprepared. He said: As it was in days of Noah, 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 all away. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.

Here, we can see how life was going on normally when flood consumed them. The people were engaged in their everyday activities, when the disaster struck. No extraordinary warning, no premonition, no time to plan an escape. So too the Son of Man will come suddenly and unexpectedly. Our times certainly sound very much like Noah’s days, where everyone seems so busy and distracted, unable to concentrate on what is really important. But Jesus is warning us today that the time for decision can catch us unawares. He insists that with a real sense of urgency, we need to take our life seriously. For there are many deceivers in the world who are making us to be too comfortable with the things of this passing world at expense of heavenly things.

Dear friends, today we are called to be ready, we are called to repentance, we are called to embrace the new life the Lord is offering us. We are called to a life of constant struggle towards perfection. If we have not yet trusted in Christ Jesus as our Saviour, we should do so now for tomorrow may be too late. If there are ugly behaviours and sins we are yet to give up, the time to do that is now. Jesus tells us that we will not have any warning signs of the coming day of judgment any more than the preaching of the Gospel, for there will be no time to repent when that day comes. 

This is what this season of Advent is all about and the Church is offering us another opportunity to encounter the Lord personally and to make that encounter a permanent experience. We should place our hope in Christ for while there is hope there is life. For it is because of the Lord that we can hope once again, knowing that beyond the sufferings of humanity due to sin and death, there is Light that dispels the falsehoods of evil and the despair of darkness that covers the whole world.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we embrace this season in expectation of the coming of Christ your Son, may the Holy Spirit inspire us to have the right disposition that will able us to embrace the Lord when he comes. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday and God bless you.