ADVENT: The coming of Jesus in our lives

Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Today is the first Sunday of Advent and this reminds us that Christmas is near. Understanding this period, Advent is not only about preparing for the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas. We live between the first coming of Jesus when he was born at Bethlehem which I call the historical coming and his Second Coming at the end of time which I call the eschatological coming. But in between these two periods, Advent is also a time for us to understand the daily coming of Jesus Christ in our lives; which I call the spiritual coming. And this is where I want us to focus, understanding Advent as the preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ birth in our lives; the celebration of Christmas not as a historical event, but as a present event in our daily lives.

Comparing Mark 13 with Luke 21 which we read today, we see that Luke has left out all the spectacular sky events which Mark associated with the Last Days: "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven" (Mark 12:24f). Luke rewrites this with more restraint: "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars" (Luke 21:25). Again, Luke leaves out altogether Mark's idea that the Son of Man "will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven" (Mark 13:27). Why does Luke leave out these easily observable and verifiable forecasts in Mark? For one thing, Luke now knows better. Mark wrote his gospel sometime before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. In his days Jewish Christians had supposed that the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple would coincide with the end of the world. But the fall of Jerusalem came and went and the world did not end. So Luke, writing about the year AD 80 had the advantage of hindsight which Mark did not have.

Six signs to help us discern these events of life

After a short introduction (Lk 21:5) the discourse proper begins. Jesus enumerates, in an apocalyptic style, the events that can be seen as signs. It is important to remember that Jesus was living and speaking in the year 33, but that the readers of Luke were living and listening to the words of Jesus about the year 85. Many things had happened between the years 33 and 85, for instance: the destruction of Jerusalem (year 70), persecutions and wars everywhere, some natural disasters. Jesus’ discourse announces these events as taking place in the future. But the community sees these things as in the past, as already having taken place:

First sign: the false messiahs who will say: “It is I! The time is at hand!” (Lk 21:8);

Second sign: war and rumors of war (Lk 21:9);

Third sign: nation will rise against nation (Lk 21:10)

Fourth sign: earthquakes, hunger and pestilence everywhere (Lk 21:11);

Fifth sign: persecution of those who proclaim the word of God (Lk 21:12-19);

Sixth sign: the siege and destruction of Jerusalem (Lk 21: 20-24).

When they heard Jesus’ proclamation, the Christian communities of the year 85 might have come to the conclusion: All these things have come to pass or are in the process of happening! All this is happening according to a plan foreseen by Jesus! But the end has not come.

The fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple touched off a big crisis of faith for the early Christians. Because the expected end of the world did not come with it, many of them gave up altogether their belief in the Second Coming of Christ. They quickly settled for earthly pleasures, like eating and drinking, and gave in to moral laxity. To address their needs, Luke added the second half of today's gospel, exhorting them to be on their guard so as not to be weighed down with "dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life" (21:34).

Here, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says: “when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!” This affirmation shows that the aim of the discourse is not to cause fear but to raise hope and joy in a people suffering from persecution. Jesus’ words helped (and still help) the communities to read events from the point of view of hope. It is those who oppress and exploit the people who must fear. They, indeed, must know that their empire is finished.

We have this text at the beginning of the Advent period because the Church wants to remind us always of the coming of Jesus Christ which we tend to forget, namely, his daily coming in the ordinary events and people in our lives. Luke's emphasis is that we should be vigilant to recognize and welcome the Lord who comes to us without warning every day in people, places and events we don’t expect to be. If we are preparing for the Lord’s coming by looking up to the sky we are mistaken, Luke today invites us to look around us, to look into the story of our daily lives and recognize the Lord who comes to us in our daily activities. While we wait we are to look for the Christ in us and among us. Jesus advises people to be constantly watching and to pray always, asking for God’s. How to do it? Saint Paul in the second reading gives us a simple answer: “make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all”; and “strengthen your hearts in holiness”.

Let’s greet this Advent season of grace with determination, confidence, and perseverance. Let’s remember that we are looking forward both to Jesus’ coming in our lives and his final return at the end of time, when he will bring us fully into his kingdom.