Homily for the First Sunday of Advent:December 1, 2013 Thursday morning, we gathered together to celebrate the Eucharistic feast before the Thanksgiving feasting began. When I entered the sanctuary, I was surprised at the number of people in attendance; I couldn’t remember that many people attending mass on Thanksgiving the previous year. During the Eucharistic Prayer, I had an epiphany, I couldn’t remember such a large crowd at last year’s Thanksgiving mass because I wasn’t there! This time last year, I was sitting at my parent’s home, waiting for my body to heal from surgery, waiting for my voice to return to normal, waiting to return to the parish. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last 72 hours reflecting on that experience of waiting. The five weeks post-op were some of the most challenging days of my short life. I couldn’t control the pace of my healing, I simply had to wait and trust my doctors and my God. I had to wait patiently. The spiritual writer, Carlo Carretto asks, “What is God trying to say to us in our busy lives?” He suggests this: “Be patient. Learn to wait – for each other, for love, for happiness, for God.” Learn to wait for others, for love, for happiness, and for God! Waiting is a part of our daily lives and often we rush through life so we can hurry up and wait: waiting for the coffee to brew, waiting for the water to boil, waiting for 5:00PM, waiting for a deer while in the deer stand, waiting in traffic, waiting in line, waiting for test results, waiting for a loved one to return from deployment, waiting for a child to be born, waiting for healing, waiting for God to take a loved one home, waiting for peace. Advent offers an opportunity to wait expectantly for the Christmas feast. These four weeks provide a chance for us to refocus on what’s truly important in our lives as we anticipate the return of our Savior through the Incarnation. But we hate to wait! We are an impatient people who want everything now. Look what happened this year as Black Friday became Black Thursday. Seriously, who can’t live without another sweater? Yes, it only cost $10 but did you really need another sweater? Who needs more stuff? Disregard the fact that our nation produces more waste than anyone else but we need more stuff! Advent is a time of hopeful anticipation in which we wait. Now, understand, this isn’t like waiting in line at Bestbuy, you probably won’t feel the rush of trampling others so you can save a few bucks but we wait for Christ. “Be still and know that He is God.” Many of you spent the holiday setting up your Christmas decorations, probably moving things around in your homes to make room for all those cute little Christmas pieces. I know some families that rearrange their living rooms to make room for the Christmas tree. Advent provides an opportunity for us to rearrange our hearts and get rid of some of the clutter, so we can welcome the birth of our Savior into our lives. Before we know it, Christmas will be here. And yes, there are so many things for us to do between now and then but don’t lose sight of the reason for these Advent days. The gospel reminds us that we do not know the hour when the Lord will return so be ready, stay awake, and wait! Take the time to slow down amid these busy days, be patient, and wait-for one another, for love, for happiness, for God.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 03:26:13 +0000
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