Homily, December 1, 2024
From The Pastor
Thank God for the promise and the gift of Christian hope. Hope is a theological virtue with faith and love. Our faith is built on trust in the nature and goodness of God revealed in the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus. Faith, Hope, and Love are a Trinity of virtues that flow to and from each other. These theological virtues convey the gift of salvation-redemption as an action and gift of God. The work of our salvation in the promise of heaven is not our doing, but a gift of God’s nature to heal, unite, and redeem.
Advent is a season of hope, united in faith and love which proclaims the coming of our Savior. What would our lives be without the coming of Christ? Without the hope and promise of redemption, who would we be as human beings? How would our nature be different? What would give our lives meaning, purpose, and direction?
God is the fullness of our hope that secures our faith and animates our lives driven by love. Our hope is the promise of eternal life. Hope in God reaches beyond worldly hopes that seek comfort, security, and power. Theological hope is for what is not yet seen but is known and longed for in our hearts. The deepest part of our nature, the soul, draws us beyond human selfishness to the larger truth of our lives in God. Theological and Cardinal virtues come to life through the Incarnation of Jesus who reveals the purity of Divine love that heals, forgives, and redeems. In Christ, this is the deepest longing and hope of our faith. From St. Paul, ‘in Christ and through his Blood, we have been redeemed, so immeasurably generous is God’s favor to us.’
This is why Christmas deserves four weeks of preparation through the Advent season. Our hearts must be reminded and renewed in the mystery of the coming of God into our world. In the weariness of sin that leans against us in the disordered chaos of the world, we are drawn to themes of justice, promise, and hope that leads us to renewed life in the Lord Jesus. The fulfillment of our hope and promise is realized in the dying and rising of Jesus. Now we live in the already, but the not yet; already redeemed in Christ but not yet in the fullness of its promise.
Consider the three comings of Christ mindful of the eternal plan of God from the beginning. From John’s gospel, ‘In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …and the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.’
There are three comings of Christ. The first is the Incarnation we celebrate at Christmas. In the person of Jesus, we celebrate Emmanuel, God with us. In the birth of Christ, a new Light comes into the world that dispels the darkness of sin and the wiles of despair that weighs heavily on the human spirit.
We are currently living in the second coming of Christ. The second coming is realized and experienced in our profession of faith, reception of Baptism, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The second coming of Christ is our personal acceptance of the grace of love given us in Christ. Grace is God’s universal and personal self-communication of Divine love that is felt and realized in countless ways.
It is in this second coming that we engage these four weeks of Advent. We are invited to give close attention to the action of God’s grace in our lives. It is a time to shake off familiar routines of prayer and manners of life to stir up our awareness of all God has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us. So great a gift is the coming of our Savior that we cannot lose a deep sense of attentive conscious gratitude for the Christ life within us.
The third coming of Christ is reflected in the readings today. The third coming is what we more commonly call the Second Coming. This last coming is the final age that brings the end of the created world described in the terrorizing failure of the sun and moon in the falling of the stars. All will be thrown into dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the seas and its waves. People will die in great fear. Dismal as this image is, it is in fact a prophesy of hope.
To all believers, Jesus says, ‘…stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.’ The call is one of preparedness. Living faith is awake, active, and ready to receive the Lord when he comes. Not trapped in the possessions, worries, or troubles of the world, but vigilant in prayer, secure in faith, hope, and love. These virtues lead us to imitate the ways of Jesus.
Consider the pure gratitude the Father showers on the Son for the work of our redemption. Think about the deep honor and thanksgiving Jesus has for the Father in fulfilling his will. Ponder the thankfulness of the Holy Spirit who conveys to us the love of the Father and the Son. What thanks and praise do you have for Christ our King?
Father John Esper
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