Adv.First Sunday,C,Dec.3,2000

It was in 1970 that along with a few priest friends of mine that I went to Calcutta to meet Mother Teresa and her sisters. Unfortunately Mother Teresa was not there, but we had a chance to visit the places of her work and the sisters who were working with her at that time. Later, when I was working at St. Matthew’s Cathedral here in Washington D.C. one of the priests at the rectory told me that Mother Teresa would be coming to the Cathedral along with the Cardinal for a short prayer. It was with real joy that I received the news and looked forward to greeting her and talking to her. A moment like this is an unforgettable event in our life, because of the waiting and expectations given for it.

We can then imagine how unbelievably great is the expectation that the humanity had in its waiting for the Redeemer. This season of Advent gives us an opportunity to renew and strengthen once again in our personal lives the expectation and the hope of the humanity for the Redeemer.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives dire predictions about the end of the world—total chaos and confusion. The disturbances in the planetary system will unleash feelings of fear in the minds of people. But it is not to fear and helplessness that He draws us, but to hope and confidence. For, he tells us: “Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” It is to our redemption, to our desire of enjoying unalloyed happiness that Jesus is drawing our attention. But he asks us to be vigilant at all times and not to allow ourselves to be subjugated by our selfishness and wanton pleasures of life.

These words of Jesus are very relevant to us as we begin to prepare ourselves during this advent season for the liturgical celebration of the birth of Christ. During this season we realize once again the ineffable magnificence of God who sent His son to forgive our sins, offered us the gift of His own life—the Holy spirit and made us call Him “ Abba.”

Advent is the time of hope in our lives. We have failed in the past, and have not been faithful to the Lord on many occasions. But today Jesus gives us another opportunity to start again, to renew our lives, to become more open and generous. Reflecting on the birth of Christ and what He has done for us gives an opportunity for a fresh start in our lives.

We have beautiful churches and Cathedrals, we have beautiful liturgies, we have solemn feasts and we feel happy about all these. But the saddest fact is that there is a lot of unhappiness in the world because half the world lives in extreme situations of poverty. We find the problems of poverty and crime in our neighborhoods, our families become disrupted through divorce, violence or abuse. Our hearts are sometimes very cold and unforgiving. Political ideologies and economic philosophies keep people apart. We also know the hundred of times we have harbored uncharitable thoughts about others and even some times have acted on them.

So what we are experiencing is a confusion in the inner planetary system of our lives. Our hearts and minds that should become blazing suns and moons because of the presence of our Redeemer are still in darkness. This Advent is the time for us to ask the Lord for the grace of conversion, of inner change to become people of love and forgiveness. All of us can improve—How? We can spend more time with the Lord daily, help some person in need, offer our services for the neighbor, control our selfishness, create a loving environment at home, and become friendly and helpful in our work places. That is the way this Advent is to be celebrated. As each candle is lighted on this wreath, so too the lights of love, forgiveness, compassion and helpfulness should be lighted in our hearts.

Then our hearts will be “blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones” as St. Paul reminds in his epistle that we have heard just now.