HOMILY GUIDE FOR ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS SEASON
BASED ON FIRST SYNOD OF THE DIOCESE SAN CARLOS THEME
AND ON THE LINEAMENTA OF THE SYNOD


Foreword

The future eschatology theme which is the Christian hope for the final consummation of history which marks the concluding Sundays of the year has its climax in the First Sunday of Advent. The lineamenta on “Empowering the Lay Faithful, ”is chosen to be the thematic base for our liturgy because it is more appropriate and relevant for this First Sunday of Advent of the Year C where the prophecy of Jeremiah, the talented prophet of the 6th Century B.C., resounds the aspirations of the lay faithful for salvation and empowerment. The apocalyptic discourse of today’s Gospel of Luke brings us to the fulfillment of that end-time where every one is empowered to be truly the followers of Christ, whose second coming signal the final redemption of the people.

First Sunday of Advent
Year C
Readings:
Jeremiah 33:14-16
1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Luke 21:25-28.34-36

Theme: EMPOWERING THE LAY FAITHFUL

I. A COMMENTARY ON THE READINGS

1). JEREMIAH 33:14-16

Prophet Jeremiah lived through one of the most troubled periods of Israel and saw the downfall of the kingdom of Judah which was in the hands of deplorable kings. Called by God to be a prophet to Judah and to the neighboring kingdoms, his ministry lasted for 40 years (627-587 B.C.). Several other prophets were also active during these troubled times of the Middle East and they were assisted by pious men responsible for the deuteronomic tradition. None of them, however, can compare to Jeremiah in his great sensitivity to Yahweh’s love for his people and his profound understanding of the people’s duty towards God through the Covenant. Jeremiah’s directness and acuity in denouncing the different religious deviations brought to fore the true nature of Yahwism and his proclamation that the eminent wars were a punishment of Judah’s aberrations.
Jeremiah 33:14-16 belong to a passage (Jer 33:14-26) which is not found in the Septuagint and this is widely regarded as a later addition, probably composed during the post exilic times. Verses 15-16 are a prose parallel to Jer 23:5-6 while verse 14 is a general statement of God’s promises concerning Israel. In Jer 23:6 the name The Lord is our righteousness is applied to the promised branch of David, in Jer 33:16 it is applied to Judah and Jerusalem or may be for Jerusalem only as the texts says this shall be her name as against Jer 23:6 which reads, “This is the name to be given to him.” The meaning of Jer 33:16 may thus be the law and justice to be established in the land by the righteous branch of David, the whole nation would be known as The Lord is our righteousness. If the name applies to Jerusalem, it would so manifest the qualities of righteousness that it is name as such.

2). THESSALONIANS 3:12-4:1

In his second missionary journey, Paul visited Thessalonica, a city in north-east Greece, situated at the chief highway between Rome and the Near East and it was an important port at that time. If Christianity was to spread to the East and to the West it should have its foothold here. Paul’s stay in this city was only for three weeks (Acts 17:2) as the Jews of the synagogue objected to Paul’s success among their gentile converts.
1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:1 is part of the warm, open and personal letter written within a few months of Paul’s visit and in answer to their letter brought to him by Timothy. This letter, which is written at around 52 A.D. and probably the earliest writing of the New Testament, expresses the joy that Christians are remaining firm in their new faith despite the suffering and persecution they must endure. In a very simple and brotherly form, Paul presents the Christian way of life and hence the exhortation, apostolic instruction and fundamental guidelines for Christian life. He tries to give a fundamental formulation of what is to be pleasing to God (Thess 4:1) and affirms that it is absolutely essential to place oneself firmly on the apostolic foundation and no other. He prays that the Thessalonians may increase and abound in love for all the people and may persevere in their readiness to meet the Lord Jesus in his coming.

3). GOSPEL: LUKE 21:25-28, 34-36

Contrary to the other synoptic gospels of Mark and Matthew, Luke has two apocalyptic discourses: Luke 17:20-37 and 21:5-36. It follows Mark in its location of the end-time discourses which is just before the passion narrative but much of its content is Luke’s own tradition. Our Gospel today is composed of a passage about the coming of the Son of Man (Lk 21:25-28) and the concluding verses of the discourse which contain an exhortation to vigilance (Lk 21:34-36). Our Gospel is part of the apocalyptic discourse of Luke 21:8-36 which has three parts:
Four main “sign” sayings:
a) The first of these (Lk 21:8-11) prophesies the coming of false prophets and wars which might be mistaken for signs of the End-Time.
b) Before all these things could happen, there will be persecution for the followers of Jesus during which they must persevere to the end (Lk 21:12-19)
c) The encirclement of Jerusalem by troops will be the sign that its prophesied fate is at hand. There will be terrible suffering for the Jews and Jerusalem will remain in the power of the gentiles for an indefinite period (Lk 21:20-24)
d) Then there will be heavenly and earthly portents which will be followed by the glorious coming of the exalted Son of Man. This will signal the coming of final redemption for the people of God (Lk 21:25-28).
The assurance that the End-Time will follow the signs of its coming and that Jesus’ words will be fulfilled (Lk 21:29-33)
A practical admonition: the disciples must not be deluded by sin into failing to recognize the signs and so being unready for the sudden, unexpected coming of the Son of Man (Lk 21:34-36)
Majority of New Testament scholars hold the idea that Luke had Mark 13 as his sole source and the differences are due to Lukan editing in the events of AD 70, the fall of Jerusalem, which is now past. Thus, in Luke 21:25ff the discourse turns from the prophecies which could already be seen to have been fulfilled to the events which mark the end of time, which are still to come.
The picture is now on the great cosmic events wherein the universe will be thrown into a disorder before the Son of Man comes. Nations and peoples will be attacked by anxiety and helplessness and mortal fear and terror will grip them. The portents of the firmament (sun, moon and stars), the earth and the sea will bring chaos (Cf. Is 13:4f; Ez 32:7f). The Second Coming of Christ will be as prophet Daniel had prophesied (Dan 7:13f). The exhortation to be ready because our redemption is drawing near is one of the most basic and most characteristic elements the message Jesus preached. In Luke’s perspective, a long time will pass before the end comes (cf. Lk 21:9, 12) because, first, the Church “will make history” (Lk 17:25; 21:9).

A SUGGESTED HOMILY

“EMPOWERING THE LAY FAITHFUL”

Anthony de Mello told this story in his book, Awareness:
A gentleman knocks on his son’s door. “Jaime”, he says “wake up!” Jaime answers, “I don’t want to get up, Papa.” The father shouts, “Get up, you have to go to school.” Jaime says, “I don’t want to go to school.” “Why not?” asks the father. “Three reasons,” says Jaime. “First, because it’s so dull; second, the kids tease me; and third, I hate school.” And the father says, “Well, I am going to give you three reasons why you must go to school. First, because it is your duty; second, because you are forty-five years old, and third, because you are the headmaster.”
Sometimes, we are like Jaime, that lazy headmaster or principal of the school. We don’t want to get up. We like to sleep and sleep. In our gospel today, we are challenged to be alert, to get up and pray as we wait for the Second Coming of Christ. “Be on watch and pray always that you will have the strength to go safely through all those things that will happen and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Lk 21: 36). This challenge to get up and be counted is a call for all. In a special way, this is the wake up call for the lay faithful. Majority of our lay faithful in this postmodernist times are in slumber due to the technologies of our times that makes our life more passive and our socio-cultural involvement are more on T.V., videoke, computer, ipod and cellphones and not on creative involvement in real life. Our lay faithful have not empowered themselves to go deeper into the situation they are in and to respond to the burning issues with a more creative and liberating human response. They have not empowered themselves to take an active role and responsibility in the Church. They have not empowered themselves to look forward to a future, a future that has already begun in Christ, a future for the attainment of the fullness of life.
Our readings today exhort us to be vigilant as we wait for the advent or coming of our Lord and to take an active role in witnessing to our faith. The lay faithful are called to take an active role in the Church because all of us—whether lay or religious—are called to the same call to the fullness of life and to the life of holiness. The Constitution of the Church of Vatican II, Lumen Gentium states, “Thus it is evident to every one that all the faithful of Christ in whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.”(LG, 40) This is to look into the future and to be ready for the Coming of the Lord into our lives. It is to be aware that we share the common priesthood entrusted to the Church. A common priesthood where we all belong to the people of God established in the sacraments of initiation, baptism and confirmation. “Through these sacraments they are made a royal priesthood and a holy people, who can offer everything they do as an act of love for God.”(Acts 3). In this light, the lay faithful must bear witness to God and “exercise their apostolate in the world as a kind of leaven”(AA, 2) Well-informed in all facets of our life and taking an initiative for a well-rounded Christian formation, the lay faithful shall rise up and take active role in integral evangelization and even involve the inactive ones in our church. Are we ready to heed what our Lord said, “Be on watch and pray constantly for strength”?


INTRODUCTION

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. We are approaching Christmas. We all know how much joy we have as we wait for Christmas Day. Today, our Lord is asking us to be on watch and to pray constantly as wait for His Second Coming, the most joyful and glorious Event of our lives. As people of God we have to open hearts and minds to this future coming of Our Lord Jesus in the Fullness of Time wherein we will have the fullness of life. As we prepare ourselves towards that Grace-filled Day of our salvation, let us strive to empower ourselves to discern His Will for us today most especially that we are preparing for the celebration of our First Diocesan Synod. Let us reflect deeply on the meaning of “Empowering the Lay Faithful” in our times today. Let us look into ourselves how to be “empowered by the Spirit of the Lord” and to be more vigilant and to be constant in our prayer during this Advent Season.