First Sunday of Advent
Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M.
MP3 – Homily Audio
Recently, I was speaking to a man who works for one of the international packaging courier. We were discussing the increased workload that comes during the Christmas Season. I was shocked when he revealed to me that there is a growing epidemic of theft occurring after a package is delivered. Yes, some people actually follow the carrier looking for an opportunity to steal an item of value. The article will be delivered and then stolen minutes later right from the porch of the consumer. The drivers are told to watch for these people trailing them and hide the packages very carefully.
Certainly, it is unfortunate to lose Christmas items and gifts to thieves, but it is much worse to consider how this trend reflects the overall degeneration of the moral fabric of society. Some would say, “Well, the economy is bad and people don’t have as much today so they are ‘desperate’”? But we do not live in a third world country and it is certainly not a matter of survival! The sad fact is that this points to a more disturbing trend. In general, many people today lack the basic moral compass to regulate their behavior. More specifically, we have become a consumer-oriented society which teaches its citizens to think more of themselves than of others and put goods before human beings.
Prepare Your Hearts
Today, we begin the season of Advent, a holy time of preparation and expectation. It is extremely difficult to focus on “waiting” and preparing for the Lord as our culture celebrates “early Christmas”. Subtly, we are often persuaded to see the Birth of Christ as a consumerist holiday focused more and more on the individual.
It is true, we may not be stealing things from anyone’s doorsteps, but none of us are blameless. We are affected by the culture and could do better to live this holy season. We must ask the question: Do we dishonor God and our family by shopping on Sundays? Are we spending more than is responsible to “keep up with others?” Are we celebrating Christmas almost exclusively according to a secular calendar which had a definitive end on December 26th?
Sadly, we must admit the need to reevaluate our society. We live in a world where people don’t think of others. Where neighbors no longer trust one another. To quote the first reading, has not God allowed us to be “delivered up to our guilt?” We are reaping the rewards of turning away from the Creator. The society that loves God first and its neighbor as itself will naturally be one of communion and peace. However, abandoning the Ten Commandments leads us to mistrust, fear, and obsessive self-preservation.
A Time to be Watchful of Ourselves
In the midst of all this, the Lord continues to call us back to Himself. “You do not know when the time will come.” “Be watchful!” “Be alert!”
The Advent season is closely linked to the Second Coming. It is this Coming that we eagerly await and profess each Sunday in the Creed. These days until Christ’s return are truly a time of mercy. A time to forgive and be forgiven. A time to prepare to look at the Lord face to face. Christ the King will fulfill all things and bring about His reign of unending peace, justice, and love. It is time not to seek fulfillment in creation, but to use it to find true gratification in union with the Creator. For us we must “watch” not our neighbor, but ourselves.
Likely, living in a culture of consumerism has led to a gradual wearing away of our Catholic conscience. It happens to us all. It is for this reason that we have this time of grace, Advent, to allow us to refocus. Before we celebrate, let us take time to prepare for Christmas. Jesus came as a child and He will come again to bring all things into fulfillment. We are asked… “can you watch with me…?” Can you hold off on the busyness, on the consumerism to just “watch”? During these next few weeks, let us step back from the expectations of Christmas and just prepare ourselves. He has come. He is here. He will come again to reward all who live not for themselves, but for Him.