12/1/2024 - 1st Sunday of Advent C

As soon as the feast of Thanksgiving is over, we tend to fuss over our Christmas preparations with a flurry of activities to decorate our homes, shopping for gifts and of course planning the food platters. In households with roots in the Italian American tradition, cooking up a feast of seven fishes makes for a very special Christmas Eve, with generations of cooks in the kitchen and favorite foods that return year after year. But the Church calendar puts a kind of  break and damper by highlighting the season of Advent. If Christ has already been born, what is this Advent waiting all about? Have we forgotten about His birth? Strangely the latter question contains part of the answer. It has to do with Jesus’ birth into our hearts and  our forgetfulness.

Our hearts get drowsy and scatterbrained, tired out by the anxieties of daily life. Maybe we distract ourselves from our troubles by working very hard, or becoming depressed, or becoming fascinated with drink, or pleasure, or out-of-control emotions, or email and surfing the internet, or pride, or, or, or (you name yours). Whatever it is for you, the very clear message of Advent is, “Settle down for a while.” Open the door just a bit to let God in.

The Scripture readings for the liturgy tug us back to the plight of our ancestors in faith. The vast majority of the population in first-century Judea belonged to the peasant class, eking out a meager living through farming and fishing. These rural communities were under immense economic pressure from multiple sources: a) Offerings demanded by the Jerusalem Temple, b) Taxes imposed by Herodian kings and c) Tribute extracted by Roman authorities. This triple taxation system placed an enormous burden on peasant families, pushing many into debt and poverty. Beyond just economic hardship, peasants faced systemic oppression and exploitation by the ruling classes. In this context of poverty and oppression, many peasants eagerly awaited divine liberation and the restoration of justice. 

While poverty may not be the villain in many homes, the trio of distractions carousing, drunkenness, and worldly cares (Lk 21:34) mentioned by Luke could be the hidden enemy within. This can lead to numbness and drowsiness of the heart. The antidote is “Be watchful (Agrypneite in Greek).” Be watchful for signs and cues regarding the end-time schedule? No. It is the constant watchfulness that accompanies prayer and leads to timely action.

The second reading from Paul’s letter gives us the directives for action by inviting us to be blameless in holiness. How do we do that? We are quite conscious of being blameless under civil law as we carefully avoid tickets for parking or speeding while driving or cheating on our income tax or asking permission and following building permits etc. We become blameless morally when no one can blame us for any violation of moral law. So, we do not lie or cheat, or commit violence against others, break promises, harm innocent people, or discriminate against others based on prejudice.

Something more than having a clean sheet of conduct in following civil laws and a stellar record in fulfilling moral codes is required if we want to be blameless in holiness. Paul Rendall of Tama, Iowa wrote the following in a published sermon, “… to be blameless is not to be sinless; but it is being willing to be taught, willing to be led, holding fast to all the truth that God has imparted to you; both in terms of Biblical teaching and the experience of learning to do what is right in the various situations of your life; this is what it means to be blameless.” That definition aligns perfectly with Psalm 119:1-2 that states “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart.” So, blameless in holiness directs our attention to our heart that loves God deeply and lives that love in action to our neighbors without even considering if they are worthy of it. Advent is a reminder to us to be conscious of our call to be loving, as the Babe of Bethlehem is the loving gift of the Father to humanity. Fr Tom Kunnel, C.O.