Today, the Church begins its new liturgical calendar with the season of Advent. The word advent means coming; hence the theme is one of waiting and expectation. During Advent, we look back to the time when man awaited the coming of the long-promised Messiah, and we look forward to his coming again in glory at the end of time.
Meanwhile, as we stand in between these two great advents, what are we to do? The Church invites us to learn to wait because the Lord comes even today in many ways. As the people of Israel missed the Messiah when he finally came two thousand years ago, we too can miss him when he comes today, or at the end of time.
Hence, the need for vigilance. How do we remain vigilant? From today’s readings, I find three things particularly helpful to make us vigilant: having a lively hope, being ready to change and praying.
Advent begins with a sure hope that Christ will come. In the first reading, Paul assures us, “For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand.” Although Christ will surely come, we do not know when and how. Hence, true hope is not only lively but patient.
Being vigilant does not mean passive waiting. It calls for active preparation for the coming of the King. In the same letter, Paul reminds us, “It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep… Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” In the days following, we will be hearing St. John the Baptist telling us to prepare the way of the Lord by straightening the crooked path, filling in the valleys…
By now we are familiar with the apocalyptic description of the end times. Will the stars actually fall from the sky and the planets spin off their orbit? Will God just crush and crumple the beautiful creation that came from his hands? We know that apocalyptic language is symbolical and not meant to be taken literally. The point is that to establish the new order, the old order must pass away. For the kingdom of God to come, the kingdom of Satan must first be vanquished and destroyed. This is the basic dynamic of the paschal mystery: in order to live the new life in Christ, I must first die to self and my old life of sin.
The first reading exhorts us “to climb the Lord’s mountain,” where he himself will teach us his ways of peace. And then, “they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” Is this not a picture of the kingdom of God? To climb the Lord’s mountain is to enter into his presence – in prayer. Indeed, we can hasten the coming of God and his kingdom when we pray, as Jesus taught us, “Our Father… thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
In our country we are presently going through an experience of advent. Today, hundreds of thousands of people gather on the streets all over the country and walk the Trillion Peso March (Part 2) in order to sustain their advocacy against corruption and their demand for justice and good governance.
The Church is one with our people in this march for God himself wills the same cause for his children. In fact, he sent his only begotten Son to proclaim his kingdom which is a kingdom of truth, justice and peace. Hence our march is not merely a catharsis for our indignation against plunder and abuse of power. More importantly, it is a manifestation of our deep desire for a better Philippines where justice and peace rule. In a word, it is an expression of our deep longing for the advent of God’s kingdom among us.
In the spirit of advent, we long for the kingdom with hope. Ours is a hope that does not disappoint for our hope is Christ himself. He is Emmanuel, God-with-us, who leads us on our journey towards God’s kingdom.
And while we hope, we pray. In our diocese, we followed up the first Trillion Peso March with our Grand Rosary Rally last 11 October and the diocesan-wide Eucharistic Procession last Sunday. Both prayer events centered on our plea for the coming of God’s kingdom among us.
While the kingdom of God is a grace to pray for, it is also a task to accomplish . The building of the kingdom starts with each of us. As Jesus reminds us, “The kingdom of God is within you.”
The task of ridding our society of plunder and injustice is a task for all since corruption has become systemic. We all need to change. In the language of the scriptures, we all need to convert. We can change our leaders every election, but if do not change ourselves as a people, the cycle of corruption and injustice will simply continue.
The old order of apathy, greed and abuse must pass if the new order of truth, justice, and peace is to come.