HOMILY for December 2, 2018: 1st Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

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1^st Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Mepkin Abbey

December 2, 2018

Signs in Our Lives

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

Signs

This past September I had the good fortune of being invited to serve as a chaplain on an ocean liner coming across the North Atlantic.

The captain and crew were very diligent in watching for signs of any storm forming in the very seas in which the “unsinkable” Titanic met its end in 1912.

We actually did encounter a hurricane during the crossing. The crew begin plotting the storm’s course, feeding data into the ship’s computers.

The computers then developed possible paths the storm might take and the impact it could have on the position of our ship. 

Early in that afternoon, warnings were issued — and people begin to get ready for the dangerous storm. 

The captain was calm, yet clear and intentional. He issued orders over the public address system in a caring and measured way. 

Precautions were taken: safety strips blocked all exterior doors to the decks. Sick bay got ready to provide for more patients. We were told what riding the storm out would feel like, where the calmest places on ship would be, and what medications to take. 

In the end, to avoid the worst of the hurricane, we were taken 200 miles off course, which ended in a 5-hour delayed arrival. The delay created a frenzy of folks trying to scurry off the ship to make airline connections or meet their rides in New York City.

Signs in Today’s Scriptures 

In a similar way our readings speak of signs, warnings, and precautions.

Jeremiah assures us that, the days are coming when the Lord will fulfill the promise he made and Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure. 

Paul prays that the hearts of the Thessalonians be strengthened and their love for all increase and abound so they will be blameless before God at the coming of Jesus.

And finally, the Gospel speaks of signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, 
with the nations of the earth being in dismay and perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.

In fact, people will die of frightin anticipation of what is coming upon the world!

Jesus advises us to beware that our hearts not become drowsyfrom carousing and drunkenness and from the anxieties of daily life, lest that day catch us by surprise like a trap.

So we are to be vigilant at all times and pray that we have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and so to be able to stand before the Son of Man.

Signs in Our Daily Living

We are already familiar with the meaning of signs in our own lives. 

For example, at our annual check-up, the doctor sits us down. He’s concerned about the numbers on our chart. He doesn’t mince his words. He says, “You’re over 70; you can’t eat like a teenager anymore.”

Or a monks or friend’s mood has changed. This usually happy person has suddenly become quiet, sullen, impatient, or angry. Is it just a temporary phase or is there something deeper, more dangerous going on?

We experience decreasing numbers in church attendance or in monastic communities, we read of scandals surrounding the lack of reporting of sexual abuses by bishops, and you wonder,“What does the future portend?”

Throughout our lives, we encounter “signs” — indicators of realities we do not readily see or understand or appreciate — or would rather ignore altogether.

These “signs” urge us to look deeper, to see beyond ourselves, to confront issues before they become disasters.

Notice the Signs and Respond to Them

On this First Sunday of Advent, Jesus calls us to pay attention to the many “signs” in the midst of every trial and challenge we encounter, but not to end simply with noting the trial or challenge. 

His call is, that in the very midst of the challenge, we are also to call to mind God’s promise of love and support and to stir that promise up into a prayer of presence and awareness, and then live in trust and surrender out of that experience.

Jesus’ union in prayer with the Father, his modeling of humility and trust enable us to realize God’s saving work in the many Advents, the many comings of the Lord, in our own lives.

Conclusion

These four weeks of Advent that we begin today are a training ground, if you will, a microcosm of the Advent that is the entirety of our lives as followers of the Lord.

They train us to ready ourselves through lives tempered by storms and adversity, lives lived in prayerful union, lives of love and trust, that in the end make it possible for us to “stand before the Son of Man.”