As you probably know, our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, is in the middle of his first apostolic journey abroad since his election in May. He began his journey with a visit to Turkey to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. This celebration marked a very important moment in Church history when the Nicene Creed was written; we will recite it together in just a few moments. He has now gone on to Lebanon where, as he had already been doing in Turkey, he has been meeting with civil leaders as well as members of both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and visiting a variety of Catholic institutions. His message has been and will continue to be a call to unity and peace. While in Turkey, he quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, who had made a rather stark comment about the wars ravaging the world today, saying that they amount to a “third world war fought piecemeal” with resources spent on armaments instead of fighting hunger and poverty and protecting God’s creation. Pope Leo observed that, after two world wars, “we are now experiencing a phase marked by a heightened level of conflict on the global level. We must not give in to this!” he exhorted all who would listen.
Pope Leo’s message is of particular significance for us today as we begin, once again, the Season of Advent. The word Advent has a Latin root; it means to await the arrival of someone or something of great importance. That’s what Advent is: we await the arrival of Jesus, our Lord and God – an event of great importance. Most of us think of this season as a time of preparation for the birth of Christ, which we will celebrate with great joy at Christmas. And, it’s important to do that since Jesus came to bring us the unity and peace of his kingdom. But, this season actually has a double focus: our Lord’s first coming in Bethlehem and his Second Coming in Glory at the end of time. The readings that begin the Advent season today capture that second meaning for us. Let’s examine these readings for a moment.
In our first reading, we hear Isaiah prophesying at a particularly dark time for ancient Israel. It was nearly eight centuries before the coming of Jesus and God’s chosen people were at war with the Assyrians. What was to follow would be a long period of war and eventual exile in Babylon. To shine a light into this darkness, Isaiah, speaking for God, gave a message of hope to help God’s people keep the faith during their time of affliction. We hear him assure his people that wars will end, the suffering will end. With beautiful, poetic language, Isaiah foretells a time when swords would become plowshares and spears would be pruning hooks. Jerusalem would be restored, the Temple rebuilt and, as we hear presented so eloquently, “all nations shall stream toward it.” The imagery is very reassuring, isn’t it? Armed with that powerful hope that comes from God, Isaiah encourages his countrymen – and us – when he calls us to walk in the light of the Lord!
When St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome centuries later – in fact, a few decades after the death and resurrection of our Lord – it was also for them a time of darkness and an uncertain future, much like the ancient Israelites in the time of Isaiah. The courageous followers of Christ were being persecuted by both their fellow Jews and the Romans. Paul was well aware of this so, like Isaiah, Paul points to a brighter future for those who endure their cross: they will one day wear the crown of righteousness. He encourages the Christians in Rome because their salvation was nearer than when they first believed.” The same can be said for us today.
Any suffering we endure because of our faith is temporary, but our hope for peace and joy is eternal. Advent calls us to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” – that’s how we prepare for the coming of this someone of great importance, the Son of God who would humble himself to become the son of Mary – and let him guide us to himself and to the peace of God’s eternal kingdom.
In today’s Gospel passage from Matthew, we hear from Jesus at a time when he is also facing great suffering and an uncertain fate. This passage recalls the Wednesday before Good Friday when Jesus would be betrayed and abandoned, put on trial, sentenced to die and led out to the cross. As he prepares himself for this moment, Jesus admonishes all of us to be awake and alert, preparing for the end of our lives, the end of the world and his second coming in glory. We must learn from those throughout history who did nothing to prepare themselves. As we hear in today’s Gospel, all those in the time of Noah who did not pay attention to God “did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.” It was only Noah and his faithful family who were saved because they had paid attention to God and they were ready.
As I mentioned earlier, in just a few minutes, we will recite the Nicene Creed, a summary proclamation of our faith. As we do every Sunday, we will profess that we believe in God who “for us men and our salvation came down from heaven and, by the Holy Spirit, was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” That’s the first coming that we will celebrate at Christmas. We go on to profess that “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.” As we begin, once again, this sacred season of Advent, our readings direct our attention to both the first and last coming of God’s son into our midst.
Let us use this Advent season wisely, not only to prepare for the coming of Christmas with gifts, lights and parties, but with prayer, penance and a deep longing for God, to prepare for the coming of Christ at the end of our lives and the end of time. Rather than being seduced by the darkness of this world and overly concerned with struggles that will continue to plague the world until the end of time, let us walk in the light of Christ! And, let us be vigilant and joyful, for he comes to bring us his eternal peace!