(Advent I C) To Live in Waiting for the Lord

The first Sunday of Advent focuses on the life of the Christian as they await the Coming of the Lord. Paul prays for the Thessalonians that they may be preserved for the coming of the Lord. The Apostle however also adds that the Christian community should also live in the manner that pleases God, that is according to the tradition received from the apostle. Luke who was a companion of Paul has modified the Marcan eschatological discourse so as to underline the Christian attitude and lifestyle: confidence and assurance in the grace of God who preserves them from the catastrphes of the end times, prayer and vigilance as they live their daily lives in faith, hope and love.

Relevant Articles

• Stand Erect, Your Heads Held High (Luke 21:25-28.34-36)
• Living in Expectation of the Lord’s Coming (1 Thess. 3:12-4:3)

Guide to the Reading of the Text

The text of Luke 21:25-36 is a parallel of the Marcan reading from the 33rd Sunday OT B. Compare the two texts that you can find in this page. The liturgical selection skips over the verses regarding the lesson about the fig tree; the intention is to highlight the passages that are characteristically Lucan. Note the underlined passages in red.

1. Luke 21:26.28. Luke stresses the frightening aspect of the catastrophes but he tells the Christians to stand erect with heads held high.
2. Luke 21:31. Luke replaces “He is near” with “the kingdom of God is near”. The concern of Luke is the reign of God that will now be made manifest.
3. Luke 21:34.36. Dissipation, drunkenness and the anxiety over life are also mentioned in the Lucan version of the parable of the sower. In Luke 8:14, the evangelist modfies Mark to make the interpretation about the seeds which fell on thorns read thus:

As for the seed that fell among thorns,
they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along,
they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life,
and they fail to produce mature fruit.

In the parable about the slaves who were assigned tasks (Luke 12:45) those manservants who get drunk and abuse the others will be severely punished.

The selection from Luke begins with an exhortation to stand erect and ends with an admonition to watch and pray so as to be preserved from the catastrophe of the end times and be able to stand before the coming Lord.

Comparing the Readings

The readings for the first Sunday of Advent (Year C) are related thematically. Jeremiah’s prophecy about the Just shoot of David reaffirms the covenant made with David that kingship will never depart from his family and that his dynasty is meant to last forever. “Just” here means “legitimate” but the word can also refer to the qualities that the future king will have in whose reign Judah and Jerusalem will experience the peace of the Messiah.

The second reading from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians has two parts: the first part is Paul’s prayer that the Christian community be preserved for the Coming of the Lord in holiness and blamelessness¹. The second part is an exhortation to live according to the tradition received from Paul: to live according to way God intends for them. In other words, the life of Christians as they await the Lord’s parousia is characterized by the need for grace (thus Paul’s prayer) and of fidelity to the tradition of the apostles. See this article.

Suggestion for the Lesson

It is the first Sunday of Advent and so one can always begin with an explanation of the spirit of the season and the theology behind it. Read “Suggestions for the Lesson” in this page. One can also emphasize the following points in consonance with the day’s readings:

1. The need for prayer and watchfulness. One watches over the way one lives so that one can remain blameless at the coming of the Lord. To stand before the Lord is a grace that one can receive through prayer.

2. The need for “kasipagang Kristiyano”. Faith (and therefore, also hope) should bear fruit in charity. Read Pope Benedict XVI’s Spe salvi for a lot of insights on this subject.

Since it is also a time when the 2012 prediction of the end of the world is popularized not only thorugh the web, or theatres, but also through the work of fundamentalistic sects and cults, it should be emphasized that the end of the world is only half the picture. The whole picture should be emphasized: the world ends so that it can be replaced by a new and better one that will be characterized by the reign of God.