My dear brothers and sisters in Christ: 

Advent is a season of preparation. While many people would assume this preparation means preparing for Christmas, the truth is that the focus on Jesus’ birth becomes predominant only in the season’s last nine days, December 16-24. That is when the Gospel readings specifically center on the historical birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The first part of Advent, however, is not focused on Jesus’ first coming in Bethlehem, but on His second coming at the end of time. In that sense, it continues the focus on the end times that the Mass readings highlighted during the last weeks of Ordinary Time. The Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time and the First Sunday of Advent always have a judgment theme, either the Lord’s return at the end of time, which we hear about at the end of Ordinary Time, or the need for watchfulness and sober readiness for that coming, which we read in the scriptures at the beginning of Advent. The Solemnity of Christ the King hinges them together, for Jesus is King of the Universe.

Thus, we need to be preparing not for a past event, but a future one. That is why, at every Mass, after the Our Father, the priest prays that the Lord will deliver us from every evil and keep us “free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, who served as Bishop of Jerusalem in the fourth century, described these two different comings of Christ in these words: “We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom. In general, whatever relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two aspects. There is a birth from God before the ages, and a birth from a virgin at the fullness of time. There is a hidden coming, like that of rain on fleece, and a coming before all eyes, still in the future. At the first coming, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. At His second coming He will be clothed in light as in a garment. In the first coming He endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming He will be in glory, escorted by an army of angels. We look then beyond the first coming and await the second.”

Saint Bernard, the famous Abbot of the Abbey of Clairvaux, France, in the twelfth century, wrote about a third coming of Jesus in these words: “We know that there are three comings of the Lord. The third lies between the other two. It is invisible, while the other two are visible. In the first coming He was seen on earth, dwelling among men; He himself testifies that they saw Him and hated Him. In the final coming all flesh will see the salvation of our God, and they will look on Him whom they pierced. The intermediate coming is a hidden one; in it only the elect see the Lord within their own selves, and they are saved. In his first coming, our Lord came in our flesh and in our weakness; in this middle coming, He comes in spirit and in power; in the final coming, He will be seen in glory and majesty. Because this coming lies between the other two, it is like a road on which we travel from the first coming to the last. In the first, Christ was our redemption; in the last, He will appear as our life; in this middle coming, He is our rest and consolation.”

The fact that our society is so preoccupied with shopping for the best deals during the weeks before Christmas is an indication of a shallow and superficial understanding of the message of Christianity. The mystery of our salvation in Christ is so much more precious and profound.

The question we should be asking ourselves during this season of Advent preparation is not, “where can we buy what we want on sale,” but “what can we do to prepare ourselves to meet the Lord?” The answer is to be attentive to His presence, looking for Him where He is to be found. We begin with where we are now: Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I will be in their midst,” so He is among us whenever we gather in His name. Jesus is present in the proclamation of his word, which is why we stand for the Gospel, acknowledging the presence of the Risen Lord. Jesus is present in the Eucharist, a truth we learn from the accounts of the Last Supper and His teaching that we heard earlier this year in the readings from chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, where Jesus refers to Himself as the Bread of Life. We are attentive to Jesus present in those who are in desperate need, as Jesus taught that: “Insofar as you did this [i.e. offered help] to the least of my brothers, you did this to me.” Moreover, we are attentive to the presence of Jesus when we address Him and listen to Him in prayer. Being attentive to the Lord, we will be prepared and able to stand with confidence before the Son of Man when He returns in glory – and when we are called from this life to the eternal life He has promised. 

May God give us this grace. Amen.