1st Sunday of Advent (C)

Sunday 1 December 2024
Lk 21,25-28.34-36

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man”
(Lk 21,34-36)

In this so-called eschatological discourse (meaning that it regards the last things), Jesus foretells previously unheard-of exceptional events: for example, signs in the sun, moon and stars; anguish and fear in the Earth, people living in anxiety caused by the cataclysmic events that will precede His second coming.

In this absolutely dramatic apocalyptic landscape, Jesus opens a window of light and hope: “When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift your heads, because your freedom is close at hand”. Jesus gives us tips to be ready at any moment for the arrival and call of the One who will return like a thief, and He clearly exhorts us to “be careful of yourselves”.

Be careful or be on guard of what? Two attitudes that are both common and opposite. The first is the tendency to escape from reality, with its problems and difficulties. The second is being moved by the sense of responsibility that pushes us to “pre-occupy ourselves,” that is, to take care of something before it happens. The term, in itself, does not have a negative connotation. Even the apostle Paul uses it when he says he is “concerned about the Churches” (2 Cor 11:28). In fact, however, the worries of life are often those that suffocate the seed of the Word of God (see Luke 8:14). Once the Word is suffocated, we feel alone in dealing with “our” problems – “God is far from my problems or, if he is near, he is asleep!” – so that we become discouraged and, in some cases, depressed! But what is the solution? Prayer, of course! But also something more. The apostle Peter, in his first letter, says: “Cast all your anxiety on to Him, because he cares for you” (1Pt 5:7). This exhortation is fundamental. It is not enough to ask the Lord to take away our worries. Let us cast them into His hands and rest in Him. We are not alone in educating our children, in governing the house, in managing our work… God is with us, he is Emmanuel!

p. Giuseppe