Advent: The Best Deal - Missionary Commentary for Sunday, December 1

Readings for the First Sunday in Advent, Year C

Jeremiah 33: 14-16
Psalm 25: 4-5, 8-9, 10, 14
1 Thessalonians 3: 12- 4: 2
Luke: 21: 25-28, 34-36

USCCB Link to the Readings

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To me, Advent is one of the most beautiful liturgical seasons that we are blessed to celebrate. We are accustomed to celebrating Thanksgiving with special foods with family and friends sitting together around the table. For many of us, the day after is already Christmas time and shopping and looking for the best deal and the lowest prices. If this sounds like your life, then you are missing an even greater deal: living the Advent season to its fullest.

The word Advent means “the coming” and as we Catholics understand, the coming of Jesus which is the feast of the Incarnation where Jesus becomes man, a human person like us. For four weeks we will hear the prophets, St. Paul and Jesus announce what is to come. The prophets will remind us of the promise of God to always be near his people. St. Paul will exhort us to act in a way that pleases God, to be ready to receive the Son of Man. The Gospels will remind us that we are capable of reading the signs of the times, to realize that our redemption is at hand through this small infant boy who will soon be born to save us all.

However, if you delve deeper into this season, the change of the color of the priests’ vestments and the four Advent candles will help you to perceive the other “comings” of Jesus. Yes, Jesus will come at the end of time. But Jesus comes into our hearts and lives every day. How do we prepare to meet our Brother and Savior? How do we live each day with our sisters, brothers, family, neighbors, strangers, the neglected, the abandoned? What do we do to fulfill the promise of a new covenant of love come alive within our society? 

We have four weeks to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. Another coming important in our lives is when Jesus comes to lead us to our heavenly home. My religious congregation has seen two sisters awaiting the coming of Sister Death in recent weeks. One sister placed herself in hospice (which was her Advent) as she prepared herself to meet her Maker. It took three days as she peacefully embraced her loving God. The other sister was placed in hospice by our caring sisters who perceived what she needed. In nine days, God and she were both ready for her eternal home. We cannot forget this important Advent which many people may experience before Christmas.

Advent is not just a preparation to receive Jesus at Christmas but a preparation to receive Jesus at all times and in all circumstances. That is why Advent is, indeed, the Best Deal we could ever desire!

Notes on the Sunday Readings

First Reading 
Jeremiah 33: 14-16 — Jeremiah is the second of the four great prophets of Israel, a contemporary of Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk. He was born in the last part of the reign of Manasseh (687-642), around the year 645 B.C., almost a century after Isaiah. He came from a priestly family in Anathoth, a town about five kilometers northeast of Jerusalem. In this reading Jeremiah reminds the people of God’s promise to raise up a person who lives justice according to God’s will.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 25: 4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 — Psalm 25 is a beautiful song of asking God for protection, recognizing the qualities of God’s being in relation to the human person, and an affirmation of God’s fidelity through the covenant that He has established in friendship to all persons.

Second Reading
1 Thessalonians 3: 12- 4: 2 — St. Paul exhorts the people to always count on God to be strengthened, to be holy because we await the coming of the Lord. It is by the example of the life of St. Paul that we will know how to conduct ourselves imitating Jesus.

Gospel 
Luke: 21: 25-28, 34-36 — Jesus explains how the last days will be and how we will react to them. We should be able to recognize them knowing that our redemption is at hand. Our conduct at that time will determine if we will stand before the Son of Man, escaping the tribulations of the Last Judgment.

Sister Nancy Schramm lived for 32 years in the Amazon area of Brazil. When she returned, she worked for the Diocese of Joliet as the Director of Formation for missioners who participated in diocesan short-term mission trips. She is a past President of the USCMA and currently serves the faith community of the Sacred Heart in Pembroke Township, Illinois.

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