Homily for First Sunday of Advent - Cycle B

Isaiah 63:16b-17,19b, 64:2b-7, ; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37

Fr. Antony Akkanath

As the Year 2020 is coming to an end, today, we begin anew liturgicalyear with the Season of Advent.This year, as we all know, a tiny virus, which is invisible to the naked eyes, has destabilized many nations, states, communities, families and individuals. The whole world is in fact, living in fear but waiting eagerly witha hope and expectation for this phenomenon of the coronavirus pandemic to end as early as possible.We are still in waiting for that day to come.

Advent is a special time the Lord has given for us to Wait and Watch. It is a time tobe attentive, vigilant, hopeful, and in constant prayer:Waiting is something that many of us don’t like. We know how annoying it is, when there is a long queue to get a ticket, to meet a doctor, to meet an officer. But the waiting is for something special and beneficial for us, we don’t mind waiting. So there is always a difference between when there is something worth waiting for and when there is nothing worth waiting for. Every men and women who follow Jesus have always something worth waiting for! One of the great elements of the Season of Advent is waiting with an expectation for something or someonespecial and good.

In the Bible, thereare many episodes of waiting eagerly for something good. The Israelites had to wait almost 40 years to enter the Promised Land. Abraham and Sarah are great examples for a lifetime of waiting with hope for the fulfilment of God’s promise of a child to them; almost all the prophets in the Bible had waited with great expectation for God’s intervention in the world. The Jewish people had always waited with great expectation for the Coming of a Messiah; a saviour to liberate them from Roman Occupation. The parents of John the Baptist, Zacariah and Elizabeth waited till their old age to get the gift of a child. Eventhe whole life of Mother Mary also was shaped by waiting for the events beyond her control.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, all the readings of today’s liturgy, offer us a path to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus into the world, an event that gives a strong meaning to our earthly lives, especially during these hard times.Reflecting on today’s readings help us to understand the events which we are experiencing as in these readings there is a strong call to wait with patience and alertness for the coming of Salvation.

The first reading taken from prophet Isaiah speaks of a twofold expectation;one expectation is that of the people, who had lost all hopes due to their experience of exile and whowere exhausted of waiting,invoked the Lord's return. The second expectation is ofGod who awaitsfor our conversion, our return to Him. Prophet Isaiah becomes the voice of all people who are waiting desperately, and asks God to tear the heavens and descend to earth to redeem, save, and teach the basics of true happiness. The prophet believes that God is like a father who does not abandon his children. This cry of loneliness and loss of hope that we hear in the wordsof prophet Isaiah for the chosen people is very familiar to us and has an important message for us in these Pandemic days; that we must wait eagerly and pray earnestly.The prophet at the end hopefully says, “ O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand”. Through these words he invites us to perceive the touch of God's hands every moment our lives. God is just like a potter, who never throws away the clay even the pot is disfigured or deformed, but he puts it back on the potter's wheel to reshape and remould. Likewise, God moulds us and form us both in our good and bad times;

The Psalm 79 which we recited as the Responsorial Psalm today is also is cry of someone in despair and who is waiting eagerly for the return of God. The psalmist petitions to God to return for the deliverance of His people and retribution on their enemies.

The Second reading chosen for this first Sunday of Advent is taken from Paul's letter to Corinthians. It is part of his opening greetings of his first letter to the Corinthians. In his greeting, St. Paul seems to be very happy with the Corinthian community and he writes the reasons for his joy. Paul's gaze is turned to the past to appreciate them, because the Corinthiancommunity had welcomed the word of God. And his gaze is turned to the present to express his happiness because the Corinthian community is rich in charisms. He also looks forward to futureas he together with them await eagerly with hope for the return of Lord Jesus Christ.St. Paul through this letter teaches us that a person or community which joyfully welcomes the word of God and lives according to them, becomes an exemplary model of love, faith, charisms and hope.

The Gospel of this first Sunday of Adventreminds us that God’s ways are unique and mysterious, we cannot calculate or guess them. Our God is like a Boss on leavewho suddenly comes back, without announcing his arrival by either sending a text message or an email. When God enters into our lives we may not be aware and know when it actually happens, so, Jesus says, it is necessary to be awake and attentive so as not to be tossed and stunned by the false urgencies of this world.The teachingof Jesus is clear to everyone: all of us must remain alert, awake, not fall asleep while waiting for the arrival of the Master. The message of the Gospel isvery strong: "Keep watch".The word ‘Keep watch’ means‘to be on one’s guard’. It must be just like the observation skill of a security guard who always observes with attention if some danger is approaching or not.The vigilantwaiting of which Jesus speaks in this parable, has various aspects to look into. First and foremost it means to recognize His presence in everyone whom we meet daily. Everyone in the Jewish world expected a strong king as their saviour but instead God came to the world as a child born not in a palace but in a manger. God came down to this earth as a child and many of His own chosen people refused to acknowledge His presence among them.

Secondly keep awake means to watch over the evil while we wait for the good to come. Jesus compares us to the guardian whose most important task is to keep awake and watch. We must be watchful as to what enters into our heart and what enters into our soul. Keeping awake also means keeping one’s eyes open and being in constant contact with the reality. Owls, with their large eyes, see clearly even in the night. This is the vigilance to which the Gospel calling us: to see in the night what others do not see. Seeing His Presence even when everything seems shrouded in darkness, finding a meaning when everything seems nonsense, finding a love even when everything seems overtaken by enmity and hatred.

This new season of Advent brings us a good news today! From today we have a new possibility: the Lord comes to visit us again in mysterious ways. This is the good news of Advent: He is not tired of us yet! He has not forsaken us yet! On this first Sunday of Advent let us ask the Lord for the wisdom and intelligence of the heart to pay attention to his words and to make this time of waiting and preparation for Christmas, a time of prayer, listening, charity, conversion, penance and renunciation. Let us also ask for more courageous and stronger life choices especially during these testing times and hopefully wait for better times to come.