Together in Spirit

Browsing From the Desk of Fr. Mike

Entering Advent

Jesus said: “People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand” (Luke 21: 26-28)

The new year of the Church begins with a “bang” as we continue the reflection given us on the 33rd Sunday of the year: “And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. (Mk 13:26-28) I think Mark ended too abruptly almost leaving us with the question: so what shall we do? As we enter this new season of the Church, before we begin our reflection on the celebrated coming of Jesus at Christmas the Church turns to Luke to give us the answer: “Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is near at hand.

In the next couple of weeks, we will meet up with John the Baptist, preparing the way of the Lord, stirring the souls of many who hear him to begin to look for someone greater than John who tells them that he is coming. We will be encouraged to examine our lives to see if we are really opening a way for us to have an encounter, or are we allowing the clutter of daily life to continue to bear down on us.  The season of Advent is an occasion to open ourselves to that encounter, on a yearly basis, so that the season of Christmas does not just fly by and leave us unaware of what is possible.

As we enter this time of reflection the invitation given to us by today’s readings is to look with anticipation to what is coming. Yes, our redemption is near at hand! The book of Revelation ends with a beautiful invitation: “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Let everyone who listens answer, Come, Then let all who are thirsty come: all who want it may have the water of life, and have it free…The One who guarantees these revelations repeats his promise: I shall indeed be with you soon. Amen; Come Lord Jesus.”” (Rev. 22:17,20)

 

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