First Sunday of Advent [C]

 


FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT [C]


During Advent we find ourselves looking backwards and also forward. We are looking backwards when we recall the period of waiting that would precede the first Coming of Christ. We know that Jeremiah and his fellow prophets were occupying center stage during this time of anticipation. In fact, we are hearing from Jeremiah as we open up this brand new season of Advent (Jer. 33:14-16). And yet, our Gospel passage reminds us that we need to be prepared for the eventual Second Coming of Jesus (see Luke 21:25-36). This means looking in a forward direction. He comes the first time as the Child of Promise; he will be coming again as Judge of the Living and the Dead. 


What will it be like, when he comes the second time? What will he see? Will he see us busy, hard at work? Or will we be standing idle, dedicating ourselves to leisure? This question is definitely being explored in Luke chapter twenty one. In addition, we hear the question being reissued as we listen in on Paul’s correspondence with the people of Thessalonica. Paul acknowledges the progress that they have been making. But he wants to ensure that it continues. They need to “keep on keeping on,” to borrow an expression from Gladys Knight of Motown fame. In effect he’s saying: Be proud of yourselves—but try not to become complacent. 


In some ways, it resembles the message delivered when you receive your high school diploma: Congratulations…and good luck! It’s generally understood that the conclusion of the one venture will lead to the undertaking of a completely new venture. Speaking personally, I knew that I was supposed to carry on. But I wasn’t sure about the “how.”  I didn’t have a sense of direction. I didn’t have a clear plan. Basically by default I ended up in the military. Recognizing my aimless nature, the U.S. Air Force recruiter steered me to where they were most in need: security police. I would spend the next six years guarding B-52 bombers and weapons storage facilities. 


God, however, uses crooked sticks to trace a straight line (St. Ignatius of Loyola). It was during this six year phase that I began to sort out my priorities. When you are manning your post, out there all alone under the stars, it’s hard not to engage in the practice of soul-searching. You wonder about life in general. Is there a purpose or a meaning? A restlessness began to develop deep down within me, similar to what Saint Augustine describes in his “Confessions.”  Slowly, as I reached the final stretch of my enlistment, it was clear to me that I needed to make up for lost time. I needed to go back to school. And I also needed to concentrate more squarely on the issue of my spirituality. 


Using the G.I. Bill, I enrolled in a Catholic college—St. Meinrad’s in southern Indiana. While pursuing a degree in Liberal Arts, I came into contact with the clergy members who were assigned to the program. Slowly, I began to discern a potential calling to the priesthood. With degree in hand, I entered into major seminary at Mount. St. Mary’s in Cincinnati. I was feeling my way along, focusing on one semester at a time. With the passing of each term, the sense of calling—or invitation—seemed to intensify. Finally, I was ordained in June of 1997, for the diocese of Gaylord. For the past 27 years I have been serving in a venture that never would have occurred to me back when I was struggling to earn my high school diploma. 


The point here is that a rolling stone gathers no moss (Erasmus). The Thessalonians are being praised for their progress, and yet they need to keep on keeping on. They need to continue rolling, otherwise moss will begin to accumulate. Furthermore, it is typically expected that those who are completing high school will be leaving behind one chapter so that they can enter into some type of a new chapter. In my own case, the high school chapter was followed by a military chapter, a secondary education chapter, a seminary chapter, and most recently a clerical chapter. These chapters, by the way, are not entirely unrelated to one another. 


“Eternal Vigilance” was what we subscribed to as members of the Strategic Air Command. We would be running a very dangerous risk if we allowed ourselves to drift into a state of complacency. Meanwhile, what are we being warned about in Luke 21:34-36? And what are Paul’s readers being cautioned about in 1st Thess. 4:1-2? The answer in each case would be the attitude of complacency. Don’t tell yourself that the level you’ve reached is sufficient enough. Let it be the Lord’s call. He will inform you when it’s time to relax. He will announce when it’s time for you to take your rest. 

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