PREPARATIONS FOR THE COMING OF JESUS.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT. YEAR C.
December 3, 2006.
(First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16) (Second Reading: Thess. 3, 12-4, 2)
(Gospel Reading: Luke 21, 25-28, 34-36)

PREPARATIONS FOR
THE COMING OF JESUS.

During the days before Christmas we prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus into to world, even though we know that Jesus has already come to the world in history more than twenty centuries ago. His coming again is real for the following reasons:
1. We, human beings are historic beings, that is, we live within the framework of time and space. When we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord at Christmas time, we are allowing Jesus to relive his coming to us - He, who is beyond history, comes into our history, subjects himself to history.

2. There are times in our lives when we find ourselves empty of Christ, times when human beings are separated from God. At these times we will always find Jesus ready and willing to come to us again and we must prepare ourselves to receive him again.

3. For those who prepare themselves to receive Jesus for the first time and for those who prepare themselves to receive Jesus again, the advent season is a propitious time for all to continue to grow in Jesus, and to "do so even more" (Thessalonians 4:1).

Jesus Comes Because Our World Needs Him.
The world in which we live exhibits alarming signs of "nations in dismay, perplexed" (Luke 21:25) by the injustice, destruction, and chaos among peoples. We are witnessing the spread of wars, aggressions, the powerful destroying the weak. There is a heightened readiness for war with little or no consideration given to peaceful, rational negotiations. There is an ever increasing separation between the wealthy and the poor, between those who live in abundance and those who starve to death, between those who have control over technology and those who do not even have access to it. We live in a world that has become "drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life" (Luke 21:34).

Preparation Through Change. Those who prepare themselves for the coming of Jesus are to be ready to commit themselves to changing an evil world into a world of goodness, into a world compatible with the goodness in human nature.

Changing our world is truly an earth shattering experience. In order to change the world human beings must learn from the model of the greatest change: The taking on of human nature by God. God becomes man. God changes his divine person into a human person. We follow God's example whenever we, human beings, accept to partake in God's nature. We change our human nature into divine nature.

Once we allow Jesus to live in us (We allow his divine nature into our human nature) then we are prepared to change the world, to make the life of our world conform with the life of God. It is at this moment when we, human beings, "stand up straight and raise our heads, for our redemption is at hand" (Luke 21:28); this is the moment when we "stand secure before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36).

The Process of Our Preparation for Change.
In order to change an evil world into a world of goodness human beings must prepare themselves by taking the following steps:
- The First Step: From Blindness to Vision. People must develop their ability to see, to recognize the evils of our world, to identify the problems of our world. The evils of our world, as described above are indeed visible. Using the language of the gospel, these evils are as visible as "signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars". If people fail to see these evils it is because individuals or groups interested in perpetuating such evils cover them up and hide them from the eyes of the people(1). Therefore, The first step for people to be prepared for change is to move from blindness to clear vision, so that we may be able to clearly see the world in which we live.

- The Second Step: From Indifference to Motivation. The world is our responsibility. No human being can say "I do not care about what happen in the world". Man must develop a genuine and strong desire to live in a just, peaceful, humane world. Peoples of the world must be able to say at some point: "We are tired of injustice, wars, oppression".

- The Third Step: From Isolation to Union with God. It is the moment when man accepts to receive God into his life and commits himself to bringing God into the world. It is the moment of the unity among men who decide to live courageously in the world, who want to make the world a safe place for all human beings, who are ready to proclaim to all the world in a loud voice: "The Lord is our justice"(2). This is the time when human beings are ready to change an evil world into a world of goodness, ready to change war into peace, conflict into negotiation, death into life, enmity into friendship, destruction into reconciliation, indifference into action.

When Jesus comes on December the 25th we would like to tell him that we are prepared to receive him, and that be believe, as Saint Luke tells us in this gospel: That day "will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth" (Luke 21:35).
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Footnotes.
(1) Ideological pressures, economic repression, social ostracism, threats against civil rights, and mind control through the means of mass communication play an important role.
(2) The first reading (Jeremiah 33:16) says: "In those days Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure; this is what they shall call her: 'The Lord is our justice'".