From Fr. Eric Asamoah
Today we begin the season of Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year (Year A) for the Church. We look forward with great expectation and hope as we realize we are celebrating the “coming” (adventus) of the Lord Jesus. Advent is a four-week preparation period leading up to Christmas.
On this first Sunday of Advent, the church enjoins us to rejoice because that night of long pilgrimage to God’s eternal city of peace will soon be fruitful. The reign of peace is close at hand. Therefore, we must wake up and be ready to receive Christ into our lives, families and nation. In the words of prophet Isaiah in the first reading, ‘the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be lifted high… all nations shall stream toward it.’ The prophet lifts up our spirits with his vision of the imminent reign of peace to be initiated by the coming of our Messiah. ‘They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.’
To usher in this reign of peace successfully, both the second reading and gospel call us to be ready and awake. St Paul announces clearly to us of the closeness of our Savior, the Prince of Peace: For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed… the night is advanced, the day is at hand.
He announces that “the time has come”. The time he means here is not the earthly time (“chronos”), but God’s time (“kairos”). It is the God’s appointed time to save his own people, and to restore peace to all troubled hearts, families, businesses, and nations. The gospel message is clear. It admonishes us also to Stay awake. It is not for you to know when Jesus will return, you just need to continue to be faithful, looking at everything with the eyes of faith, not the eyes of the world.
Advent is a season that will culminate in an outburst of great joy. It is a season of prayer when all Christians must turn to God in prayer. Therefore, with the psalmist, I pray for you all my dear friends, companions, and people of God: “Peace be to your homes! May peace reign in your walls, and in your palaces, peace!” Amen.