Don Bosco Philippines South Province

Homily on the First Sunday of Advent, 27 November 2022

One of the many inconveniences that we experience in life is waiting.  Life is full of waiting.  Right from the very beginning of our existence our parents have to wait for nine months before we are born. Everyday we have to put up with waiting from morning till night time.  Some have to wait outside the CR door as soon as they get up from bed because someone else is using it and taking a long time sitting down or taking a shower. Others have to wait for the coffee to brew or the water to boil.  Some of us have to join dozens or even hundreds of people waiting at the bus stop for public transport on their way to work or school. In the meantime vendors along the sidewalk wait for whoever in the crowd would approach and buy something. Some of us keep looking at the smart phone waiting for a friend to message or call while others wait for their grab food delivery for lunch or snacks. And so on and so forth…

And then at the end of the day we have to put up with waiting again. Workers have to wait to receive their pay. Habal-habal drivers have to wait for their next passenger. Ladies have to wait for their “uyab” or “bana” to come and take them home. Some wait the whole night for sleep to come kay gi-insomnia sila.  Some women have to wait for years before their first baby could be born while other women have to wait for a lifetime for their prince charming to come and find them.  You see life is full of waiting. And people can have different attitudes, moods and feelings while waiting.

Brothers and sisters we have just begun the new season of Advent.  This year we are blest to have the longest Advent season with a total of twenty-eight days or four full weeks from November 27 up to December 24. This period will definitely be a time of waiting. But more than just passively waiting for that Special Someone to come, we are called to prepare ourselves to welcome him on Christmas day and at the end of time. 

Last night I gave a recollection to liturgical ministers at the Cathedral. And the topic given to me to discuss was on synodality. I was very much challenged because I found it difficult at first to relate synodality with Advent.  But anyway by God’s grace I got some inspiration and so I would like to share with you a part of the talk I gave to them.

What is the meaning of synodality? It is the specific “modus vivendi et operandi” of the Church, the People of God, which reveals and gives substance to her true identity and mission.  In simpler terms, it refers to the involvement and participation of the whole People of God in both the life and mission of the Church as a communion of disciples, journeying together, gathering in assembly and participating in God’s mission of salvation.

If we try to read reflectively and look closely into the set of readings for each of the four Sundays of Advent this year, we will realize that all them manifest a Church in constant synodality.  Allow me to show this to you.

On this First Sunday of Advent we are told by St Paul of the nearness of the Lord’s return “Awake from your slumber for your salvation is near” (Rom 13:11-14).  Hence, our response to this according to St Matthew’s Gospel should be that of prayerful vigilance “Stay awake and be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man” (Mt 24:37-44). However we are also told by the prophet Isaiah that our Advent waiting should not remain as passive as simply waiting for the Lord to come. On the contrary it should be so active and dynamic that it sets us on a journey always in constant movement forward. “Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths” (Is 2:1-5).  Even the Responsorial Psalm affirms this: “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord” (Ps 122:1-9). Therefore as early as today, the first Sunday of Advent, we are called and challenged tobe on a journey walking together as a Church to meet and welcome the God of our Salvation.

Next Sunday, the Second Sunday of Advent through the prophet Isaiah, we will get to know more about the Lord whose coming we expect, and we will enjoy an amazing vision of what life could be on God’s holy mountain, that is, an experience of global harmony and universal communion (Is 11:1-10); an experience of perfect justice and fullness of peace (Ps 72).  We will also be made to recall how God’s chosen people journeyed towards the desert in order to repent, be baptized by John and produce good fruit (Mt 3:1-12). And we will be exhorted by St Paul to live in harmony with one another, glorifying God with one accord and with one voice (Rom 14:4-9). Therefore, the second Sunday of Advent will once again be a call and a challenge for us to be on a journey walking together as a Church for the purpose of strengthening communion with God, with others, and with nature.

On the Third Sunday of Advent we will again be told, this time by the apostle James, of the nearness of our salvation and the corresponding attitude of patient waiting (James 5: 7-10) aside from joyful expectation.  The first reading from Isaiah will make us feel excited as we get get to know more the specific mission of the Messiah whose coming we expect (Is 25:1-6, 10).  The gospel passage from Matthew will had more excitement as the mission of John the Baptism is made known to us (Mt 11:2-11).  Thus shall we be led to pray with eager longing “Lord, come and save us” (Ps 146: 6-10). The third Sunday of Advent will therefore be not only a call to joyful expectation but also a challenge to be on a common journey participating in the Church’s mission of preparing the way of the Lord like the way John the Baptist did as herald of the divine Redeemer.

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we will hear of Isaiah’s prophecy about a virgin who will conceive and give birth to the Messiah (Is 7:10-14).  For this, we will be told by the Psalmist to open our hearts and let the Lord enter, for he is the King of glory (Ps 24:1-6).  In the gospel passage from St Matthew, we will be made to recall St Joseph’s obedient yes to God’s call (Mt 1:18-24) that led to the birth of the Messiah, from whom St Paul will receive his mission to preach the Gospel among the gentiles (Rom 1:1-7). Therefore, Fourth Sunday of Advent will be another challenge not only to be part of the communion of the redeemed but also to obey God sending us for a specific mission in this world so that we can participate in Christ’s continuing work of redemption.  So we now see much clearly how each of the four Sundays of Advent this year manifests a Church in constant synodality.

As we begin our Advent preparation let us keep in mind that it is not right to just passively wait for Christmas. God is calling us to follow the footsteps of Joseph and Mary, the shepherds and the Magi all of whom made a journey towards the lace where the Messiah was to be born.  Like them we are to make this journey as one Church walking together towards the place where Jesus is to be born, and marching together towards the promised land where Jesus wants us all to be at the end of time.  And while on this journey let us make sure to have the disposition and attitude of prayerful vigilance, conversion of the heart, joyful expectation and trusting obedience to God’s will.  Jesus will certainly come as he promised to take us to the Father’s home.

Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus, come. GiGsss!

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