FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YR C
Jer. 33:14-16; Ps 25;
1 Thes. 3:12-4:2; Luke 21:25-28,34-36
HOPE IN THE PROMISE OF GOD
Today the first Sunday of Advent begins the new Liturgical year. A period of preparation for the coming of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. It is interesting that at the begging of the Liturgical year the Church invites us to be forward looking towards the Lord. An ever-present indication that our true home is beyond this world with its troubles and brokenness. Advent therefore is a season of hope.
After a turbulent year of continual fight to overcome or find a solution to the Corona virus, we can be hopeful in the promise of God that all shall be well. In this season we can find comfort when we find time to pray and reflect on the God’s graciousness.
The first reading from Jeremiah 33:14-16, is a message of hope for the people of Israel. The background is that Jerusalem is on the verge of being run over by the armies of king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Very soon it’s streets will be filled with corpses, buildings will be burnt, the strongest and the most beautiful of them will be carried off into slavery. The life of the nation is practically coming to an end. The prophesies of judgment proclaimed by the prophet are coming true.
In the midst of this gloom the prophet gives a message of hope. To concretise this message of hopeful restoration, the prophet purchased a piece of land at the time when all is threatened to be destroyed, for “…houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land” (Jer 32:15). This is what the season invites us to do: no matter what you are going through, the word of God for your vindication shall come to pass. Your situation shall not end in shame or disappointment. Believe that God will restore you and it shall come to pass. Take steps of faith towards where you want to be after your crisis. Never give up. The crisis shall pass.
The message begins with the expression “the days are coming” which appear about 16 times in the book of Jeremiah and used in two ways. In a negative sense (seven times) it was used to refer to the coming calamity that will befall Judah. For the remaining nine times it is in reference to the restoration that God will bring to Israel. This means that God spends more effort in blessing us than in looking for ways to punish us. Even when He looks for ways to punish us, they are meant to help us find our way back to him. God always desires to see us happier and more fulfilled than to be stuck in sorrow. The days are coming when your pain will pass away.
The promise is about the restoration of the Davidic dynasty which ended with the Babylonian invasion. He shall come as a shoot springing from a stump. This is a sign of life in the face of death. Even in the situation in our lives that have nothing going on the Lord will cause life to spring forth. In situations where there is lack God will cause the blessings of abundance to spring forth. When you have lost all strength, emotionally, psychologically and physically God will cause strength to spring forth through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The king who is coming will l act in uprightness or righteousness. It means essentially one who is compassionate. This attribute of righteousness is used to describe God as “the Lord is gracious and full of compassion” (Ps 111:4). The king will treat his people as God will treat them. This care is especially for the poor, the widow and the orphan and those who have no one to fight for them. This kind of kings can only be God himself. The expectation of the coming of this king/messiah then is realized in Jesus Christ who died for us while were still sinners.
He fights for those who have no one to fight for them. Like the helpless Israelites in the face of the invasion and devastation of the Babylonian army, God will fight for them and restore them. In the same way God will fight for you too in your helplessness.
When all have given up on you, when you have no one to fight for you, God will fight for you. The future of Israel is not determined by the Babylonians but by God. In the same way your end and what becomes of you is not decided by man but by God himself. The Apostle Paul wonders “if God is for us who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31).
May we spend this season of Advent to return to the Lord with all our hearts and minds so that we can enjoy his promises of goodness upon our lives.
See you on the other side of the promise.
BY Rev. FR. Delight Arnold Carbonu
