1st Sunday Advent, year ’A’
“As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of man comes. For in those days before the flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark.” As this new liturgical year begins, we wish to be very attentive : ’The coming of the Son of man will be like what happened at the time of Noah.’ We see attentively any change in the person we love. Human beings are capable of being available to all things, to nothing, to silence. This is what goes on in our hearts. If we give enough respectful attention, we can make another rise up to the present moment. At the start of this time of Advent calls us to wait, to make ourselves available deep down in our being. Our being needs to be renewed by Jesus. We are waiting for a new humanity. Advent is first and foremost an attitude, one of being poor in our bodies. It means to contemplate the flickering candle in the darkness. It means that what we are waiting for takes shape and takes on a face. A few days ago was acclaimed Jesus King of the Universe, Jesus is this king of Love who comes and transforms everything. In a few weeks time we are going to welcome this same King of Love as a tiny little child. We are a ’People walking in the long night’, situating ourselves humbly before God. This is the long path humanity has to walk upon, the long night of peoples where Jesus is unknown. They suspected nothing until the flood came and swept them all away. This is what it will be like when the Son of man comes. Two men in the fields and one of them will b taken, the other left; of two men grinding at the mill, one is taken, one left. So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming." from the outside nothing seems to distinguish these two men and two women. We need to take into account the intimate way to be attentive and to be awoken. ’ So be watchful, for you do not know what the day when your Lord will come.’ Through Mary the earth opens up for the first heart to heart with God. The Saviour is germinating in humanity. It is the mystery that we celebrate Christmas. God, like a love, comes to renew everything on our earth. He comes and takes body so that we dress on our divinity. This Love of God comes and takes hold of our heart and has our heart beat to the same rhythm of God’s heart. We are waiting for this fundamental renewal of our life in the most secret part of our existence. Today, on our very own doorsteps, Jesus is unknown. And yet from year to year, our faith is renewed, our charity is intensified, and our hope grows. We want to be more vigilant. We are more aware of the treasure of our faith and we want to take on the world following Jesus. " You may be quite sure of this, that if the house-holder had known at what time of he night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect." The reference to the deluge and the evocation of the thief can make us fear the reality of the Kingdom of God. We who are at the rhythm of the world, in our country, for our brothers who don ’t believe in God. Saint Therese of Lisieux said : ’I had thought that faith was easy for everything.’ But ordeals will transform her :’ I know that there are some people who don’t believe .’ Jesus comes each day in humanity , just as he did two thousand years ago. He is hidden in the poor. How many anguished people there are today. How many brothers and sisters whose life is drawn out and who are waiting for the evening darkness to fall asleep, only to wake up again, are in agony. Now, it is humanity that love is given, that we prepare the coming of Jesus and is return ;’Come, Lord Jesus! Come!’ Jesus comes, he is here. He doesn’t have any other path than those who are hoping for this new humanity to come about. Our walk towards Christmas is the walk towards the new humanity, one symbolised by a child, let us be ready. We pray that the power of God’s Infinite Love may be revealed in us.