Advent Sunday
“He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
Overview
Today we begin the season of Advent; a season of expectation and preparation, not just for Christ’s birth but his return at the fulfilment of time. It is more than a season of waiting and hoping; it is a time to reflect on our role in preparing the way of the Lord. Isaiah 2:1-5, looks forward this time but also make clear that our role in not a passive one: we are the ones who beat the swords into plough shares and the spears into pruning hooks: we are the ones who will carry out the work of nurture and productivity and growth. In our gospel reading, Matthew 24:36-44, Jesus tells us to be ready, to be alert and awake for the day when he comes. Christ comes to us all the time: we have many opportunities to be active in the healing work of God in the world. During Advent the challenge is not to be so distracted by our preparations to celebrate Christ’s birth that we miss the opportunities to welcome him in our midst.
FIRST READING
Isaiah 2:1-5
The Future House of God
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Judgement Pronounced on Arrogance
5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
GOSPEL
Matthew 24:36-44
The Necessity for Watchfulness
‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
