Homily for Sunday 2nd December 2018
_“But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and care of this life.” *Luke 21:34*_
Dear friends in Christ, Advent is here again. Happy new liturgical year to you all. We just left Year B and we are now in Year C. The Church’s calendar is three years; A, B and C. For those who do not know what this means, our readings at daily mass are arranged in such a way that it takes three years (a, b and c) to finish the entire Bible. Just attend mass every day for three years paying attention to the readings and you would have completed the whole Bible.
*The Christmas Challenge.*
A few years ago, I was invited to a live television studio to talk about the rationale for the celebration of Christmas vis-a-viz the evils that characterize the season of Christmas such as the upsurge of road traffic accidents, the increase in kidnapping and armed robbery, the activities of ritualists, the heightened level of immoral behaviours especially among the young, the sudden scarcity of essential commodities (fuel scarcity, food scarcity, power scarcity), heightened security concerns, acts of terrorism, communal and family clashes and so on just to mention a few.
For those who do not celebrate Christmas, these are just some examples of why they feel Christmas as a whole should be scrapped. For some others, since there is nowhere in the Bible that Christ asked us to celebrate his birth, we are actually disobeying God who specified the festivals we should celebrate in the Old Testament. Still, for others, birthdays are generally evil since for example, when Herod celebrated his birthday in the Bible, his joyful mood led to his hasty pronouncement which eventually cost the head of John the Baptist. Some people even link the bloodshed during the season of Christmas to the fact that we are celebrating Christ’s birthday.
Is there really a link between the level of evil in our society and the fact that we are celebrating Christ’s birth? What is the whole essence of Advent and what could be our response to those who try to convince us that it is totally wrong to celebrate Christmas?
*The Real Meaning of Advent.*
The word Advent means “coming.” Basically, Advent is a period of about three to four weeks preceding Christmas during which we prepare for Christ’s coming. However, it is important to note that advent is not only about the coming of Jesus’ birthday (December 25th) it is also and more importantly, a time to prepare ourselves for the second COMING of Christ. This is the reason why our Gospel passage today is laden with a lot of end-time imagery. Advent is not only about our preparedness for the Christmas festivities, it is first of all about our preparedness for Christ when He would come to judge the living and the dead.
As to when Christ will come again, we do not know but what we know is that it would be a time of great disasters and catastrophe, there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, there would be great distress and unhappiness in the nations, people will faint with fear and even the powers of heaven will be shaken, terrible and unimaginable things will happen. The question is not whether these things are happening or will happen, the question is: “Is my name in the book of life?” Advent is a time for deep spiritual preparation; we must prepare our hearts, clean up our dirt and filth and put our house in order just like those about to die soon.
Advent is an opportunity to strengthen our spiritual life. As Jesus concludes in today’s Gospel passage, “do not allow your hearts to be consumed by drunkenness and concern for the cares of this life (worries about what you will eat, drink or wear, the party you will attend or how much money you will blow away in the name of enjoyment), but watch at all times (be vigilant to temptations, stand your guard against satan and his tricks) and be ever prayerful.
Dear friends, just like the season of Lent, the colour of vestment during Advent is purple; a penitential colour. When last did you go for confession? Have you been following the advice the priest gave to you after hearing your sins? Or have you returned to your vomits? Use this time of Advent well. Prepare and Go for Confession and truly make a firm resolution not to return to your sins again, make real efforts, change your bad habits, increase your hatred for sin and double your love for God. Christ is coming soon.
*What Happens When Advent is Not Properly Utilized?*
The simple truth is that the summary of all the evils we see in our society during the period of Christmas is directly an offshoot of our failure to take full advantage of the spiritual opportunity the season of Advent affords us. If we do not clear our dirt, rid ourselves from sin and act like people prepared to depart this world or like people prepared to receive Jesus Christ into our homes, then Christmas becomes a time of great evil, drunkenness, carousing, immorality, and all kinds of evil; instead of Christmas, we end up celebrating “devilmas.”
Many people including Christians often talk about blood-sucking demons who come out during the Christmas season to cause accidents on our roads but I dare put it to you that we are our own blood-sucking demons when we choose to disobey traffic rules, when we drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, when we over-speed in an attempt to make more money or when we are just in rush for whatever reason. Yes, there is nowhere in the Bible that Christ said we should celebrate His birthday. Nevertheless, there is also nowhere in the Bible that Christ said we must commit any of the evils that have now been associated with His birthday. There is nowhere asked us to partake in immoral acts or to be inhumane because we are seeking heightened pleasure.
For those who do not celebrate Christmas, you are not committing any sin by so doing, but let it be known to you that Christ is not responsible for the evils associated with his birthday. Even if the Church stops Christmas this year, these evils we see will probably not end. Beyond the fun and excitement of this period, Christmas ought to be a truly spiritual moment for those who celebrate it, a time to reconcile with God, a time to reunite with family members, a time to show more love to the less-privileged, the orphans, the elderly, a time to renounce sin and make new resolutions.
*Conclusion: Look Up and Raise Your Heads away from evil and sinfulness.*
In today’s first reading, Jeremiah prophesied about the coming of the righteous branch who will execute justice and righteousness in the land, whose name shall be “the Lord is our righteousness.” Do you notice the repetition of the word “righteous” in that entire first reading? When Jesus talked about looking up and raising your heads, He wasn’t saying we should fix our gaze on the clouds permanently, He meant we should look at the higher things, the things that pertain to righteousness.
Christmas is first and foremost a celebration of righteousness; a celebration of holiness and Godliness. The eating and drinking/partying aspect is not necessary and not Biblical. While the Bible did not ask us to let down our moral guards in the name of celebrating Christ’s birth, it clearly spelt out how we MUST prepare our hearts in holiness and righteousness for the coming of Christ. This is what our second reading teaches: “establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his Saints…. This is how you ought to live and to please God.”
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, as I prepare for your coming this Christmas, may it be a truly spiritual experience for me. Amen.
Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (First Sunday of Advent. Year C. Bible Study: Jeremiah 33:14-16, Psalm 25:4-14, 1st Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 and Luke 21:25-36).
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