Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT (Cycle C)
Readings:
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14
1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The words LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, and that is why we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Church's Universal Catechism teaches that our Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The First Sunday in Advent: There are five seasons in the liturgical year: Advent, Christmas, Lent, the Triduum, and Easter. The season of Advent begins the eve of the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. The Christmas Season then begins with the vigil of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord. Advent is like awaiting the birth of a child with an odd mixture of happiness and contentment accompanied by nervousness concerning that which is coming. For this reason, Advent can be described as a season of waiting. And for what are we waiting? The entire community of the Church is waiting for what the prophet Isaiah wrote about in the 25th Chapter of the Book of Isaiah. We are waiting for the day when God will remove the veil separating people and nations from one another and from God (Is 25:7). When that day comes, God will "wipe away the tears from every cheek," and we shall see things for what they are (Is 25:8; Rev 7:17; 21:4). At this season of the Liturgical year, we are looking back in time to Jesus' First Advent, when He came to earth as God enfleshed as a tiny baby. But we are also looking forward in time to His promised Second Advent. The word "advent" means "arriving," and at the end of time, as we know it, Jesus will return, arriving as the divine King and Judge to gather all of His Church to Himself.
The Theme of the Readings: By Perseverance You Will
Secure Your Lives
The theme of the readings for this Sunday comes from Luke 21:19,
a verse that precedes our Gospel Reading when Jesus said: "By your perseverance,
you will secure your lives." At this point in salvation history, we are
between Christ's two comings: His first Advent when God the Son came enfleshed
to live what all that humanity experiences and to preach the Gospel of
salvation, and also the promised Second Advent of His return. The angels revealed
to the Apostles and disciples this future event at Jesus's Ascension. They
said, "Men of Galilees, why are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same
way as you have seen him going into heaven" (Acts 1:11).
We know the promise that death and evil will be destroyed when the King of kings arrives to claim His Church, but when? We pray and wait, but is God listening? The Advent readings address these questions. Waiting on the timing of the Lord requires patience and the perseverance of faith. We must accept God's will in the "not yet" with the hope and trust in "the better that is to come." As to why He is taking so long to return, St. Peter wrote: But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard "delay," but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar, and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out (2 Pt 3:8-10.
In the First Reading, the prophet Jeremiah gives the people of God the promise of a Davidic Messiah who will re-establish justice and peace in the land and shepherd a spiritually renewed covenant people. The Responsorial Psalm reminds us that God is merciful to sinners and gracious to the humble. When we are depressed by injustice in the world, weighed down by personal suffering, and tempted to lose patience in waiting for the Lord's return, we should make verse 5 of the Responsorial Psalm our prayer. We should cry out: Guide me in your truth and teach me, or you are God my Savior. For you I wait all the long day, because of your goodness, LORD (NABRE).
In the Second Reading, St. Paul writes about the necessity of persevering in holiness until Christ returns. Paul speaks in the "name of Christ" and refers to Jesus's doctrine on righteous moral behavior based on love of God and love of neighbor. We need to pray for this kind of persistence in holiness for each other so, in answer to Jesus's question in Luke 17:8b, "But when the Son of man comes, will he find any faith on earth?" our response will be a resounding "Yes!"
Jesus speaks in the apocalyptic language of the Old Testament prophets in the Gospel Reading, describing the cataclysmic event of the return of the "Son of Man" whose arrival will impact all creation. The present age of the Kingdom of the Church of Jesus Christ is the Final Age of humanity that will end when Christ returns to judge the righteous and the wicked. He will condemn the wicked to everlasting punishment and welcome the righteous to eternal bliss (Mt 25:31-46). Advent should be a time for self-evaluation and humble repentance. The Church is waiting for Christ's renewed arrival at Christmas in one perspective and for His Second coming, which will determine our eternal future when we hear His call. We must persevere in holiness and obedience to His commands to present ourselves in a state of grace, ready to greet our King and Savior!
The First Reading Jeremiah 33:14-16 ~ The Promised
Messiah and the New Jerusalem
14 The days are
coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of
Israel and Judah. 15 In those days,
in that time, I will raise up for David a just shoot; he shall do what is right
and just in the land. 16 In those
days, Judah shall be safe, and Jerusalem shall dwell secure; this is what they
shall call her: "The LORD our justice."
In the days of the prophet Jeremiah, in the 6th century BC, the citizens of Judea were about to experience the Babylonian army's conquest of Judea, ending in the destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple and their capture and exile into Babylonian lands. In Chapter 31, Jeremiah gave them hope if only they persevered in faith. God promised through His prophet a future return from exile and a deeper, more intimate understanding of God. This knowledge of God would be founded on a personal relationship based on a new covenant (31:31-34). Then, in Chapter 33, Jeremiah promised that a righteous Davidic Messiah would usher in this new era of peace, a promise previously made by the 8th century BC prophet Isaiah (Is 9:4/5-6/7; 11:1-12).
In the introduction to his Gospel, St. Matthew proclaims that Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the prophecy of the Davidic Messiah (Mt 1:1). It is also a mystery the angel Gabriel revealed to the Virgin Mary of Nazareth at the Incarnation of the Christ (Lk 1:31-33) before His first Advent. Jesus is the Davidic King who fulfills God's covenant with David that his throne will endure forever (2 Sam 7:16; 23:5). He is the one who is bringing the promise of eternal salvation to all peoples in everlasting peace and justice when He returns to defeat the power of death over humanity. He will establish a new Heaven and earth and a New Jerusalem from where He will rule His covenant people of every generation forever (Rev 7:17; 21:1-4).
Responsorial Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14 ~ For You, O Lord, I Wait
Response: "To you, O Lord, I lift my soul."
4 Your ways, O LORD,
make known to me; teach me your paths, 5 guide
me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior, and for you I wait
all the day.
Response:
8 Good and upright
is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way. 9 He guides the humble to justice, and teaches the humble his
way.
Response:
10 All the paths of
the LORD are kindness and constancy toward those who keep his covenant and his
decrees. [...] 14 The friendship
of the LORD is with those who fear him, and his covenant, for their
instruction.
Response:
The psalmist asks for instruction in God's laws so that he can walk the path that leads to salvation (verses 4-5). God's teaching is for both sinners and the humble (verses 8-9). The humble person is the one who confesses his sins to the Lord and seeks His forgiveness. To that person, who is faithful to his covenant relationship with the Almighty, God extends His merciful covenant love and rewards that person with the constancy of His protection (verses 10, 14).
Jesus fulfills these verses in His two Advents. He came in His first Advent showing His mercy to sinners, pardoning their sins, and rewarding the humble with the revelation of His truth (Jn 14:6). The mission of God the Son is the way of mercy (First Advent) and the way of justice in judging our good works (Second Advent, Mt 25:31-46). Concerning the merits of the righteous and the gift of salvation, St. Augustine wrote: "The one who follows the Lord's paths and sees that he has been set free through no merit of his own, and takes no pride in his own efforts, will draw nearer to the Lord. In times to come, he will avoid the severe judgment that will be handed down to those who question all these things, for he has experienced the mercy of the one who came to his aid" (Enarrationes in Psalmos, 24.10).
The one who fears offending God is the one who loves Him and keeps His commandments (1 Jn 2:3-6). His reward will be a unique friendship with the Lord and a share in His divine life based on the family bond of covenant unity (verse 14; Lk 22:19-20). For Christians, the Sacrament of Baptism is our spiritual rebirth into the family of God the Father. At the same time, the Eucharist is our share in the divine life of Jesus Christ and a foretaste of the heavenly Banquet of the Righteous (Rev 19:5-9).
The Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 ~ Persevere
in Holiness
[Brothers and sisters] 12 May the Lord make you increase and abound in
love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, 13 so as to strengthen your hearts, to be
blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus
with all his holy ones. Amen. 4:1 Finally,
brothers and sisters, we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that,
as you received from us how you should conduct yourselves to please God, and as
you are conducting yourselves, you do so even more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you
through the Lord Jesus.
The people of the Christian community at Thessalonica were anxiously waiting for Christ's return; however, some had lost patience and did not continue to lead blameless Christian lives. Therefore, St. Paul prayed for the community he founded, asking God to strengthen their hearts so they might be leading righteous lives at the time of Christ's coming and ready to receive Him and the "holy ones" who will come with Him. These "holy ones" can refer to the sanctified elect who received the gift of eternal salvation, or to the angels or both.
In verses 4:1-2, Paul spoke in the "name of Christ" and referred to Jesus's doctrine on righteous moral behavior based on love of God and love of neighbor. We should strive to persevere in righteousness and pray for persistence in holiness for each other so, in answer to Jesus's question in Luke 17:8b, "But when the Son of man comes, will he find any faith on earth?" our response will be a resounding "Yes!"
The Gospel of Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 ~ Be Prepared
for the Coming of the Son of Man
25 "There
will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be
in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will die of fright in
anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens
will be shaken. 27And then
they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. [...] 34 Beware that your hearts do not become
drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that
day catch you by surprise 35 like
a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the
earth. 36 Be vigilant at
all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that
are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man."
Jesus, speaking in the apocalyptic language of the Old Testament prophets, describes the cataclysmic event of the return of the "Son of Man," when His return in glory(Second Advent) will impact all creation. Verse 27 alludes to the vision the prophet Daniel had of the "Son of Man coming on the clouds of Heaven" and presented before the heavenly throne of God the Father. There He received sovereignty over all the nations and peoples of the earth (Dan 7:13-14). It is a vision Jesus will claim for Himself at His trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin, for which the Jewish high priest condemned Jesus to death for blasphemy in claiming to be the prophet Daniel's divine Messiah (Mt 26:64-66). This warning of the return of Christ the King in judgment was for Jesus's generation and all generations in what is the Final Age of humanity. Thus, Jesus gave us three warnings:
The age of the Kingdom of the Church of Jesus Christ is the
Final Age of humanity that will end when Christ returns to judge the righteous
and the wicked. He will condemn the wicked to everlasting punishment and welcome
the righteous to eternal bliss (Mt 25:31-46; Rev 20:11-15)!
Therefore, Advent should be a time for self-evaluation and
humble repentance. We are waiting for Christ's renewed coming into our hearts at
Christmas in one perspective and for His Second Coming in glory that will
determine our eternal future when we hear the signal given by the voice of the
Archangel and the trumpet of God (1 Thess 4:16). Thus, we must persevere in holiness
so that we are prepared and clothed in a state of grace, ready to greet our
King and Savior!
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
Luke 21:27 (CCC 671, 697);
21:34-36 (CCC 2612)
The final tribulation and Christ's return in glory (CCC 668-667, 769)
"Come, Lord Jesus!" (CCC 451, 671, 1130, 1403, 2817)
Jesus, the Son of David (CCC 439, 496, 559, 2616)
God is faithful and merciful (CCC 207, 210-214, 1062-1063)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2015; revised 2021 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.