03/12/2006 - FIRST SUNDAY of ADVENT- Year C
First Reading Jeremiah 33:14-16 Psalm 24/25
Second Reading 1Thessalonians 3:12-13 - 4:2 Gospel Luke 21:25-28; 34-36
"As He who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct;
for it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (1Peter 1:15-16).
This is what St. Peter writes to the Christian community of Asia Minor. Likewise,
St. Paul, in his Letters, reminds us that we were chosen to be saints, that
our vocation is that of holiness. Like Peter, the Apostles echo the Scriptures:
"You shall be holy, for I, the Lord, your God am holy"! (Lev 19:2)
During the new year, we will dedicate a few minutes of catechesis to attempt
to cover the many phases on the road to holiness. What does it mean to be holy?
How must we behave? What will we accomplish? On the one hand, we are told: "You
are holy", on the other hand: "Be holy" or "You shall be
holy". In the Book of Revelations, there is this exhortation: "The
holy still be holy" (Rev 22:11).
I will try to focus on these two aspects of holiness: that which does not depend
on us and that which is accomplished, only, through our own participation. I
hope that I will not be presumptuous in tackling this topic. I do it, only,
because I am confident that the Holy Spirit will help me and you to get closer
to Jesus, who is "the Holy One of God" (John 5:69) and, in so doing,
we will have that holiness, in our life, which the Church needs to show the
world and to fulfill Its mission among men!
First of all, we cannot forget that the term "holy" is a term which
describes God. Only God is holy! Therefore, only He can use this attribute for
persons or things, which He considers His own - His property. He alone is holy,
and He is three times holy, as the Seraphs sing, according to the testimony
of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:3).
We begin a new liturgical year and, once again, we will be reminded of the life
and the mystery of the coming and the presence of Jesus, the Son of God, and
the offering of Himself to the Father, for us sinners! The Word of God accompanies
us and stimulates us in this memorial, as we proceed on our way to conversion,
of our return to the Father! This path will never end; in fact, the more we
proceed, the more we realize how great is the distance that separates us from
Him. But it is not we, who must reach God. This is our consolation, because
it is He who is the protagonist, it is He who wishes to come towards us. This
is exactly what the prophet Jeremiah reminds us, today. God promised and He
will deliver! He promised to save us, and He sends "a branch of justice"
which pours out, over the earth, a goodness never before seen or experienced.
We already know the name of this branch, and that is why we await His coming.
He has already branched out, but continues to begin anew, because we continue
to fall into our old habits of living a life of selfishness.
We are in the habit of appreciating a selfish way of living, which makes us
suffer. This is where we seem to find satisfaction; yet, we are hesitant to
leave it behind. This selfish way of living is the reason that we keep falling
and pulling away from one another, and it is exactly this that impedes in that
communion that would bring us joy, and enthusiasm to our life.
In order to welcome the One which God promised, the branch of justice, we must
leave, abandon and renege the habitual way of being and of living. This frightens
us, and our first impression is that our world will crumble on top of us; that
the sun and the moon will no longer be. In the discourse with His disciples,
Jesus described this situation energetically and well, and He gives us pressing
recommendation: "Stay awake, praying at all times"! Do we want joy,
or not? Do we want a new life for us and for those around us, or not? If so,
we must cultivate the desire of "salvation" which has been promised,
so that we can await it every day and ask for it, insistently, in prayer.
St. Paul prays to the Lord and, at the same time, recommends that we are attentive
to our brothers and love them with "reciprocal" love, the love which
Jesus, Himself, commanded when He said: "Love one another". This is
how we must be vigilant. This is how we can care for, and fully welcome, the
branch of justice who is coming to change to face of the earth.
Let us begin this time of Advent with the ardent desire for the presence of
Jesus and with renewed attention to our brothers!