FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR A)

Описание: (Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122(121); Romans 13:11-14a; Matthew 24:37-44)

Theme: Staying Awake for the Lord’s Coming

The Church has commenced a new liturgical year with Advent, a season that gradually evolved in the 4th century. In Advent, we are called to reexamine our salvific history; to reflect on the Incarnation and Parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ - His first and second comings. However, Advent also reminds us that the Lord has come and continues to come to us each day.

Thus, it is right to say that the prophecy of Prophet Isaiah in today's first reading has been fulfilled: God's Kingdom is here and now. Our Lord Jesus has not only ascended into heaven, but He also reigns in our world. He guides, cultivates, and plants His Spirit within the souls of believers, enabling us to bear good fruits for the common good, as offerings for our salvation, when sin and death will be ultimately annihilated at the second coming of our Lord Jesus.

And so, the key message of today’s second reading and the gospel is to prepare not only for the Lord’s Parousia, but also to be ready to welcome Him each day, which demands living in His light, cultivating virtues to resist temptations and sin, and remaining alert and vigilant, for we do not know when our Lord and Master will come.

Therefore, we must not be deceived into believing that the Lord is not present in our chaotic and conflict-ridden world. Prophet Isaiah’s God’s own world, shaped by His way of Grace, law of Truth, and word of Life, has been established, and it is developing to conquer this world and lead us in the right direction. Yes, the final renewal of the world has begun; thus, as believers, we are called to embrace the way of the Lord, participate in renewing the earth, and patiently await the ultimate fulfillment of the Church’s mission in the age to come.

St Paul reminds that now is the moment (the Kairos or gracious time) to join those seeking to labour for the Lord and to dwell on His mountain of peace. The Advent season is an opportunity to deepen our relationship with the Lord; it is the time to increase our faith; this is the time to renew our strategies against temptations and recurring sins; and this is the time to prepare for an easy passage from death to eternal life. Thus, the first Sunday of Advent reminds us that the world will surely end and that the Lord will return unexpectedly; let us awaken from our sleep of complacency and actively pursue our salvation.