First Reading: Jer 33:14-16; Psalm: 25. R. v. 1; Second Reading: 1 Thes 3:12-4:2; Gospel: Lk 21:25-28. 34-36

CO-OPERATING WITH GOD’S REDEMPTIVE PLAN

BY FR VALENTINE NNAMDI EGBUONU, MSP 

 

I’d like to start this homily by wishing us a happy new year. Surprised? I suppose we are not. Just as every first day of January each year marks the beginning of a new year in the Gregorian calendar, so does every first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of a new year in the Church’s liturgical life. So, today we begin a new journey into the liturgical year C of the Church’s year.

On every first Sunday of Advent, it is customary in the advent liturgy to light the first advent candle – the prophetic candle or the candle of hope. The symbolic meaning of this candle is not only captured in our readings of today but also illustrates the very season that we are presently in. Advent is from the Latin word ‘adventus’ which means ‘coming.’ To expatiate more, advent is a season we hope and await the coming of the child Christ. But advent is more than this. Advent comes to us not in one-fold but in threefold.

When we speak of advent, we usually focus on the first coming of Christ; that is, the anticipation of his birth at Christmas. And his final coming in the clouds of heaven on the last day to judge the living and the dead. But in-between this first and the final coming of the Saviour, there is another advent. This is the advent we live each day – opening our hearts daily to welcome Christ into our lives and into the different situations we face as we witness to the faith each day. Much as the present advent season focuses on the coming of the Saviour at Christmas, the gospel of today also turns our attention to the advent in-between and reiterates the need for us to hope in Christ amidst our adversities and daily challenges.

The images portrayed in the gospel of today such as, “the distress of nations,” “the roaring of the sea and the waves,” “the fainting with fear and the feeling of foreboding” are signs of the final coming but they also highlight our daily experiences. These signs are what we experience daily in our world today which does not immediately translate to the end of the world. Many nations are facing the distress of drought, hunger, violence and war. Tsunamis and floods are common disasters; the recent being the Spain flood in Valencia. The living condition of man, the pressure of life’s demand, the stress of work, and bad nutrition are all taking their toll on our health on daily basis; yet we are survivors. Is there hope amidst these disasters? Can we see the redemptive hand of Christ amidst these crises?

Christ said, “Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (v 28). In our daily experiences and in our battle with life’s crisis, the hope of redemption that Christ promises begins from us. We must not be downcast amidst our challenges. But just as Christ encouraged, we must look up and raise our heads high. And there is no better way to raise our heads high than to be involved in God’s redemptive plan. God’s redemptive work cooperates with the human inventive and proactive actions. In all human dreams and challenges, God needs us to take a practical step in realising these dreams and fixing those challenges. It is in this active human process that the divine mechanics happen.

So, Christ comes to us in our daily experiences when we begin to react positively and proactively to these experiences. If life is becoming meaningless to us, perhaps we should re-evaluate our relationship with God and with our neighbours. If our marriage is becoming sour and uninteresting, maybe it’s time to pay attention to the things we neglect in our marital relationship. If the celibate life is becoming bland and difficult, maybe it’s time to retreat to re-evaluate our priorities and spiritual life. If your fiancé is becoming abusive and manipulative, it could be time to ask yourself if this is the kind of man you intend to spend the rest of your life with in marriage. If a country or city is ravaged by natural disaster, it becomes a wake-up call for the government to seek proactive measures to control or curtail its future recurrence. In every ugly experience in life, there is something we can do as possible remedies to make life better. And it is in doing them that we experience God’s redemptive love which evidently collaborates with the human inventive action.    

It is only when we play our active human role in realising God’s redemptive plan that we begin to let Christ into our lives and into our daily experiences. And when this happens, our hope sparkles and comes alive again. Our dreams become realisable. And life becomes positive, meaningful, joyful and full of optimistic expectations. With this mood we can begin a perfect first step into the Advent season; and most definitely a joyful Christmas in the coming weeks.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Lord Jesus Christ, grant us the vision and disposition to play our human role in making our world a beautiful place; that we may begin to see your redemptive work in our works of love. Amen.