Good News of the End-time!

Rev. Marcel Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, Year C

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, California

November 29, 2015

The season of Advent is a period of expectation. The word “Advent” means “Arrival” or “Coming.” The entire season is a period of expectation of the arrival or coming of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. In the first reading, prophet Jeremiah (33:14-16) looks forward to the coming or arrival of honesty and integrity in the land. He looks forward in expectation to the days when the land will be safe and secured. In the second reading(1 Thess. 3:12—4:2), St. Paul looks forward in expectation when true believers will live blameless in holiness. In the Gospel taken from Luke 21:25-28, 34-36, Jesus looks to the future and speaks of a day when “the powers of heaven will be shaken.” Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus appear to be speaking about another world because the world they lived was as disordered as ours. Prophet Jeremiah preached when the Babylonian armies started the destruction of Jerusalem. St. Paul wrote when the first Christians were suffering tremendous persecution and a good number of them despaired. The words of today’s Gospel were Jesus’ last words before his passion. These three readings were addressed to a world as confused and chaotic as our world today. 

Our world is in turmoil. We are living in a very dangerous time. In my lifetime, I have never witnessed anything like this before. In the midst of today’s extreme suffering, chaos, terrorism, religious intolerance, hate and division, it is difficult to see how the visions, prophesies and amazing expectations of today’s readings will be realized. Extreme and violent terrorism is sweeping through the globe, destroying human lives and property. No one seems to be safe again. People are fearful. Resources that should have been used to combat extreme poverty are now being channelled to fight terrorists groups like Boko Haram, ISIL, Al Qaeda, Al Shabab etc. The name of the good, merciful and compassionate God is daily used to perpetrate heinous acts, thereby giving organized religion a very bad name and exposing every religious faith to ridicule and insult. No day passes-by without a breaking news of one mayhem or the other occurring somewhere in the world. As we grapple with these issues personally and collectively, and as our political and religious leaders wrestle specifically with acts of terrorism, the Church invites us to enter the season of Advent with hope and confidence in the Lord of justice. 

The season of Advent emphasizes the coming of the Prince of peace. In fact, he is already in our midst. Over 2000 years ago, he came to us as a human being. He is still present with us in the Word, in us and among us. At every Mass, he comes to us in the Eucharist (Matthew 26:26-29). He also comes to us in grace. He speaks in our consciences; “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to dine with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20). Despite what is happening around us and around the world, let us not forget that God is still with us. The book of Psalm 46:7 tells us that “The Lord of host is with us, the God of Jacob is our stronghold.” Although, everything seems disordered and chaotic now, but at the end of time, God will tidy up what human beings have disordered. He will right the wrong and make right what has gone wrong. He will also mess up those who messed up his creation.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns his followers to “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and anxieties of daily life…” Put simply, Jesus is warning his disciples to be careful so that their hearts do not become sleepy as a result of excessive drinking, noisy partying, getting drunk and being bogged down by the material things of the world. We should not let the cares of this world shift our attention from what matters most. We should not allow the challenges of today deny us of the great glory to come. We are in this heavenly race to win it. Therefore, neither the anxieties of this world nor the threat of ISIL or Al Qaeda should shake our faith in God. As we live our normal life, Jesus encourages us to “Be vigilant at all times, and to pray…” 

Beloved in Christ, I have a good news to share. The good news is that in the end, Jesus will come to right the wrong. The good news is that evil will not win. Haters will not win. Those who strive to divide us will not win. ISIS or ISIL will not win. They will not win this fight. Every terrorist group out there will not win. Bad people will not win. Their evil deeds will catch up with them, and justice will again be just. I have a good news to share. The good news is that Jesus is coming to save us. Isaiah 35:4 tells us to “Say to those who are fearful, ‘be strong, do not be afraid’ for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” 

With faith, let us continue to look at the world with the eyes of God. If we look at it with our natural eyes alone, we would see nothing else but filth, ugliness, and confusion. But with the eyes of faith rooted in God, we would see that God is still here with us. He’s still in charge. In Hebrew 13:5, he made a promise, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” During this season of Advent, I urge each of us not to ignore or give up on the world we live in. Let’s not see the challenges, difficulties and anxieties we face as obstacles between us and God. With the lens of faith in Christ Jesus, let’s believe that the guiding hand of God is working through these disorders. With the help of God, we can enjoy the vision of Jeremiah, live the blameless life envisioned by Paul, escape the imminent tribulations prophesied by Jesus and stand, not just before the Son of Man but beside the Son of Man.

Brothers and sisters, the end-time good news I have to share is this: when all is said and done, God through our Savior and Brother Jesus Christ will come to save you, me and everyone who believed in his name and did his will. Therefore, do not grow weary of doing what is good. Do not succumb to fear. Do not give up faith, hope and charity and give in to fear, division and hate. Instead, “Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand” (Luke 21:28).