Mark 13:33-37
Dear Friends, Advent has us look backward so we can look forward. Both views call us to live in the present.
In the first three weeks of Advent the message of the scriptural readings calls our attention to the coming of Jesus in our lives and particularly at the end of time. The wonderful cry of Advent is: Come Lord Jesus. On the sixteenth of December we switch our emphasis to prepare for the celebration of the Word made flesh.
Isaiah is the featured Old Testament author of the Advent Season. The beauty of his poetry is filled with hope for deliverance and longing for the final expression of God’s saving power.
Mark’s message today, and in this time of Advent, is based on the fundamental confidence flowing from the Christian message. Christ will return in glory and with him will come the fullness of redemption. A new day is coming. Mark is emphatic: we need to be ready. “May he not come to you suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: watch!” (Mk 13:37)
This longing for the return of the Lord mirrors the passionate longing expressed in Isaiah So, we join together in our liturgies and in our lives to proclaim the Advent yearning: Come Lord Jesus!
In the meanwhile, Isaiah, Paul and Mark have a clear and simple message for us. Live today in faithfulness to the Lord. Enter into the reality of our life. We do not know the future but we do know the present. We are called to live the gospel with acts of mercy and forgiveness, with concern for justice and peace, with a burning desire to maintain the gift of God’s creation. In this constant struggle, Isaiah encourages us with these words “O Lord, you are our father: we are the clay and you are the potter; we are all the work of your hands.” (Isaiah 64:7)
This beautiful image of Isaiah tells us we belong to God. As vessels of clay, God continues the divine artistry when we are open to his call. We too often suffer a loss of hearing because of the noise of our consumer culture especially in these pre-Christmas days. Advent calls us to give God a free hand in kneading, shaping and refining our lives.
Advent challenges us to look at the lost opportunities, the time wasted and misdirected. We all have more than enough to account for. Advent calls us to gather ourselves together and live today, in the grace of the present moment. Tomorrow is in God’s hands. We need to cry out, Come Lord Jesus!
We are told to have hope. The reality of our world is pulling us steadily into despair and hopelessness. The wars around the world continue to grow, sucking up resources that could so readily help the poor. In our neighborhoods, the car-jackings and drive-by shootings continue to escalate. The ravages of climate change are getting worse every day. There is no doubt futility and hopelessness are pounding at our door.
In the face of this very real and very grim reality, Advent challenges our hopelessness and helplessness. Advent tells us we are not alone. The Divine Potter has not finished the job on us and our world. When we cry out, Come Lord Jesus, it is a cry of hope and faith and love from the deepest hunger in our heart. It is the hunger for salvation and deliverance. This Advent prayer is all the more forceful when it comes from a life committed to walk with Jesus.
God is very capable of keeping the schedule. He will do the job of finishing the program and all the pottery at the appropriate time. It is quite normal for us to use that familiar question of our youth, Are we there yet? God will let us know. In the meanwhile, our task is to be faithful to the gospel message and express the hunger in our heart for a new day with the beautiful Advent prayer, Come Lord Jesus!
In the first three weeks of Advent the message of the scriptural readings calls our attention to the coming of Jesus in our lives and particularly at the end of time. The wonderful cry of Advent is: Come Lord Jesus. On the sixteenth of December we switch our emphasis to prepare for the celebration of the Word made flesh.
Isaiah is the featured Old Testament author of the Advent Season. The beauty of his poetry is filled with hope for deliverance and longing for the final expression of God’s saving power.
Mark’s message today, and in this time of Advent, is based on the fundamental confidence flowing from the Christian message. Christ will return in glory and with him will come the fullness of redemption. A new day is coming. Mark is emphatic: we need to be ready. “May he not come to you suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: watch!” (Mk 13:37)
This longing for the return of the Lord mirrors the passionate longing expressed in Isaiah So, we join together in our liturgies and in our lives to proclaim the Advent yearning: Come Lord Jesus!
In the meanwhile, Isaiah, Paul and Mark have a clear and simple message for us. Live today in faithfulness to the Lord. Enter into the reality of our life. We do not know the future but we do know the present. We are called to live the gospel with acts of mercy and forgiveness, with concern for justice and peace, with a burning desire to maintain the gift of God’s creation. In this constant struggle, Isaiah encourages us with these words “O Lord, you are our father: we are the clay and you are the potter; we are all the work of your hands.” (Isaiah 64:7)
This beautiful image of Isaiah tells us we belong to God. As vessels of clay, God continues the divine artistry when we are open to his call. We too often suffer a loss of hearing because of the noise of our consumer culture especially in these pre-Christmas days. Advent calls us to give God a free hand in kneading, shaping and refining our lives.
Advent challenges us to look at the lost opportunities, the time wasted and misdirected. We all have more than enough to account for. Advent calls us to gather ourselves together and live today, in the grace of the present moment. Tomorrow is in God’s hands. We need to cry out, Come Lord Jesus!
We are told to have hope. The reality of our world is pulling us steadily into despair and hopelessness. The wars around the world continue to grow, sucking up resources that could so readily help the poor. In our neighborhoods, the car-jackings and drive-by shootings continue to escalate. The ravages of climate change are getting worse every day. There is no doubt futility and hopelessness are pounding at our door.
In the face of this very real and very grim reality, Advent challenges our hopelessness and helplessness. Advent tells us we are not alone. The Divine Potter has not finished the job on us and our world. When we cry out, Come Lord Jesus, it is a cry of hope and faith and love from the deepest hunger in our heart. It is the hunger for salvation and deliverance. This Advent prayer is all the more forceful when it comes from a life committed to walk with Jesus.
God is very capable of keeping the schedule. He will do the job of finishing the program and all the pottery at the appropriate time. It is quite normal for us to use that familiar question of our youth, Are we there yet? God will let us know. In the meanwhile, our task is to be faithful to the gospel message and express the hunger in our heart for a new day with the beautiful Advent prayer, Come Lord Jesus!
In Christ,
Fr. Tracy O’ Sullivan O. Carm
