First Sunday of Advent
“Be vigilant.” What does that mean in ordinary English? Get ready to act. No? Christmas is coming.
Send out cards. Buy a tree and decorate it. Do some shopping for dinner on the big day.
What about me, personally? I’m not going to live forever. So, how do I prepare for the end that’s coming. When? Who knows? But it’s coming. What should I do about it now? Vigilance.
To be vigilant then means to avoid taking an action that denies my ultimate vocation, which is to face Jesus, my savior and judge. And that will happen on a day closer that I would like to think. Better: it means taking the means available to prepare a faith-filled life here and now in preparation for a future of joy.
Advent fits in with all of this. It is a time of hope, the time now to prepare for a joyful Christmas. That means putting up with ever-present annoyances now that are mixed with the anticipation of Christmas to come, and in the future, living an everlasting joyful life. That’s what hope means.
Resolve: In a spirit of what the birth of Christ means to me personally, I shall, in preparation of Christmas, pray this Advent that the Lord give me, and those who seek false hope, grace for the real hope that will bring about genuine anticipated joy.