Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, Year A

Making the Right Praise of Yahweh the Highest Mountain

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, Year A

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, November 30, 2025

Although the season of Advent lasts only four weeks, the entire Christian life has an Advent quality. We are always praying and longing for Adventus, the “coming of the Lord into our hearts.” We know that at a specific time in history, Jesus came, and right now, he is coming to us through the Church, the sacraments, neighbors, the poor, the marginalized, the disenfranchised, widows, orphans, and more. Moreover, we also long for his coming at the end of time. As I have said many times, this world is not it. No matter how well you are doing in life, there is still something unfulfilled. We desire something we don’t fully possess. The Advent season brings all this to our awareness.

The first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah 2:1-5, presents the image of a mountain. I tell you, this passage has, throughout history, inspired many reflections, artistic expressions, and spiritual articulations. From Isaiah's words, we hear, “In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills.” Isaiah was from Jerusalem in ancient Judah. He knew the city where the Temple of the Lord stood—the place where Israel rightly praised God. It was seen literally and practically as God's dwelling place on earth. Isaiah says, “In days to come…” meaning, at the end of all things, this will be the highest mountain. Isaiah was not speaking literally, but spiritually. He knew very well that Mount Zion was not the highest mountain in the world. When all is fulfilled, he says, the praise of God will be the greatest value.

The first challenge for us now, as we prepare for the coming of the Lord, is: What is your highest mountain? What is of the greatest value to you? Everyone has one. No matter how much we pretend, we all have something we consider the highest mountain and the ultimate value. There is a mountain we see as the highest in our lives. There is a person, place, or thing where you are offering your worship. For some people, it is their country, culture, religion, family, relationship, a pop star, a politician, their profession or career, political party, race/tribe, land, etc. How do we identify our highest mountain? We spend a lot of our time attending to that good. Don’t get me wrong. Everything I have listed is good. In itself, there is nothing wrong with them. But they are not meant to be worshipped. They are not meant to be the highest mountain. The praise and worship of God should be the highest mountain. And once that happens, everything else will fall into its proper place. For the four weeks of Advent, keep this Isaiah’s image of the mountain in mind. Constantly ask yourself the following questions: Is the praise and worship of God the highest mountain in my life? Have I elevated my devotion to God above all other commitments? Are my other preoccupations still competing with God? Where do I worship? In God’s temple or the temple of worldly goods? Make these your challenge for Advent. 

Last Sunday, we celebrated the Solemnity of Christ the King. On that day, I said that Jesus wants to be the Lord of your life. Not a minor or peripheral figure in your life. Not just one inspiring figure among many. He wants to be the Dominus—the Lord of your life. He wants to be the Beginning, the End, and everything in between. He desires to be the Organizing Principle of your life. If your praise and worship of Him is the highest mountain in your life, then He is your King. If nothing else competes with Him, He is your King. But if you still find yourself moving in and out of Him, use this Advent to make Him the highest mountain and the greatest value. 

Isaiah also says, “All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: ‘Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob.” During Jewish festivals, Jews from all over Israel and the wider world would come to Jerusalem to offer praise. But Isaiah envisions that at the end of all things, it won’t be just the people of Israel but all the nations of the world gathering together in common praise of God. Consider Isaiah's words in a personal and spiritual light: when we worship God with all our heart, soul, and mind, what occurs? When Mount Zion is the highest mountain, what happens? All parts of you—your heart, soul, will, mind, private life, public life, friendships, social activities, entertainment, passions, energies, and interactions—will come together in true praise. When we give glory to God in the highest, we experience a harmony that nothing in this world can offer. The reason we feel so much tension and internal conflict is that we haven't yet found the place of true praise. As long as you worship other things instead of the true and living God, all the forces within you will be in conflict. “Our hearts,” said the great St. Augustine, “are restless until they rest in God.” When God is not properly praised, all your energies and passions fight each other. You know what you’re supposed to do, but you don’t follow through. St. Paul echoes this truth in his letter to the Romans. Your will tells you it’s wrong, don’t do it. But your passions say, go ahead and do it. My public life shows that I have it together, but my private life is messy. One friendship guides me up to Mount Zion, but another pulls me away from it. My religious life points me toward the mountain of true praise, but my political and other aspects draw me away. I’m at war with myself. Yet Isaiah tells us that on the day when God receives the highest praise, the divisions within me and the battles raging within will flow toward Mount Zion. 

During this Advent, focus on giving God your highest praise. Make Mount Zion the true center of your life, and you will find peace like never before. Please do it now. Wake up from your spiritual slumber. St. Paul, in our second reading (Romans 13:11-14), says that now is the time to wake up from sleep. Many of us have surrendered to the dull indifference of our culture. We are merely religious. The flame of faith is still there, but it is flickering rather than shining brightly. Let’s all wake up. As Jesus himself said in the Gospel, “Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” We know that death is inevitable, but we don’t know when it will happen. That’s why we should live each day as if it were our last. Wake up, everyone, from that spiritual sleep of indifference and lack of awareness of God. 

God bless you!