Already the radio, TV, and newspapers are hitting us with urgent reminders to get ready for Christmas. But we gather this weekend to begin a different kind of preparation. Over the next four weeks of Advent, we will recall how Jesus comes to us. He has come as an infant lying in a manger. One day he will come like a thief in the night; as our judge at the end of time. Today and every day he comes to us as Emmanuel, God with us. Amid all the Christmas planning and holiday shopping, let us welcome God’s most wonderful gift into our world, our homes, and our hearts.
Even this year, when Advent begins as early as it possibly can, it still doesn’t arrive before the deluge of Christmas music, decorations, and advertisements already upon us. But today’s Gospel provides us with a bracing counterpoint to this early merriment. There’ll be no parties in anticipation of the apocalypse, Paul and Isaiah show us in the readings. Let us “put on the armor of light and walk in the Lord’s paths.” Paul’s example of armor implies that hardships await, but light implies to us, that what we do should be done openly, enlightening others by what we say and do. “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” even in the midst of hardships. This is how we truly walk in the Lord’s path. May this grace-filled season of Advent-celebrating his coming in the past, in the present, and in the future-be the best gift we can give our God in exchange for the wonderful gift of his Son.
Love, Peace, Joy,
Fr. Bob
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