Readings for Nov. 30-Dec. 1, First Sunday in Advent
By Fr. Jack Treloar, SJ | For On Mission
This week we begin our observance of Advent. Unlike Lent, which begins with an exhortation to look at our sinfulness and repent, this season starts with exhortations to live in a new way that prepares us for the second coming of Christ.
The reading from 1 Thessalonians, especially, gives us a roadmap for our Christian life and an opportunity for examination of the manner in which we are actually leading our Christian life. The emphasis is not on how we have failed, but on the manner of leading an excellent Christian life.
There are three points in Paul’s exhortation.
First, he encourages us to “increase and abound in love for one another and for all” (1 Thess 3:12). We hear Paul echoing the second of the two great commandments, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
The suggestion is that one of the best preparations for the coming of Christ means that we learn to treat people as human beings with a dignity deserving of their status as humans. My neighbor is another human like me and much more than the pencil or tool in my hand.
Second, Paul points out our relationship to God when he tells us to “strengthen your hearts to be boundless in holiness” (1 Thess 3:13). Here, we have a rephrasing of the first great commandment.
We are created to praise, reverence and serve God. This commandment should be the center of our lives; during Advent we prepare for the second coming of Christ by looking at our holiness and where we might grow in this part of our spiritual life.
Finally, Paul claims that “you have received from us how you should conduct yourselves to please God” (1 Thess 4:1).
If we follow the two great commandments, then we will be pleasing to God and will have anticipated the coming of the Lord, not only into our individual lives, but also into all of history.
Our season of Advent has a cosmic dimension in the sense that we prepare ourselves both for the coming celebration of Jesus’ nativity and for the final coming of the Lord at the conclusion of human history.
With this perspective as a background for the approaching celebrations, we await the coming of the baby in the manger as a historical event that changed all of history. In addition, at the beginning of this season, the church also asks us to take the long view and acknowledge that we have been swept up into a cosmic movement that only concludes when Christ arrives at his second coming.
We do our job to bring about this second Advent by having love for one another, by growing in boundless holiness and by conducting ourselves in order to please God.
While our celebrations, gift-giving and family gatherings are important, we should put all planning for the holidays into the context that we are ultimately celebrating Jesus’ entry into the world, both in Bethlehem and at the end of time.
Fr. Treloar is an assistant director at Jesuit Retreat House in Oshkosh and has served as a professor, lecturer, author and academic administrator.
The readings for Sunday, Dec. 1, can be found at First Sunday of Advent | USCCB.
