WAIT FOR YOUR REDEMPTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
⏰FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT (Year C)
📕Jer 33:14-16; Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14 (R.v.1); 1 Thess 3:12 4:2; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
Today, we begin a new Liturgical Year in the life of the Church. Hence, I wish to say a happy new year to you. My prayer is that in this new liturgical year, our spiritual strength would be more strengthened and we may be more prepared to meet Christ any time he calls us to come back to him. Amen.
The readings of today invite us to allow our resolutions in this new liturgical year to be one that would lead us to righteousness.
As we probably already know, Advent is a period of waiting for the glorious coming of the Lord. In this waiting, we hope that we shall be part of the members of his royal entourage. Do you share in this hope? How do you prepare for it?
Probably, Jeremiah must have ended up making the Israelites in exile to lose hope of ever uniting with God in Jerusalem while they continued to go deeper in immorality in the foreign land. Nonetheless, their hope was not totally effaced. Jeremiah brought them this prophecy of restoration, but with an important qualification – the name of the restorer is, “The Lord is our righteousness” (Jer 33:16).
I strongly hope and pray that that promise of restoration would come alive in our falling nation and world. Amen.
Let us note that we all have our different responsibilities towards that restoration, but the common one is that we must all turn to seek the face of God in righteousness.
With many prophecies on the end time that abound these days, St. Paul admonishes us, as he did to the Thessalonians, that the important thing for us to do is “to walk and to please God” (1 Thess 4:1).
At this period, the Church would begin to use the purple vestments and cloths. The purple is for royalty and it makes reflect of Christ who is coming as a king. It is also a sign of repentance, reminding us that while we wait on Christ, we need to repent of our sins, sweep our house clean and then wait for the manifestation of his glory. That is the message of the Gospel to us today.
I pray that his anticipated second coming will give us hope; and may he bring transformation into every aspect of our life, especially our spiritual life. Amen.
I wish you once more a prosperous new liturgical year and a grace filled Sunday. Peace be with you.
