Stay Awake ... Ready and Waiting ... for Salvation!
Homily preached December 3, 2023
by Monsignor Michael Deering

This past Monday ... was the Monday after Thanksgiving that has come to be known as “Cyber Monday” because in recent years Merchandizers offer special savings on their merchandize to those shoppers who purchase it on-line ... on that day!

Well the sales volume that took place that day was $12.4 Billion!

Yes, it was the largest on-line sales volume that ever occurred in one day!

It seems many people have discovered that they can receive great savings on desired merchandise without actually going to Stores and Malls and dealing with crowds but can simply order what they want right from their home ...

and then let Amazon Prime deliver it to their front door within 2 days!

Why wait in line at Stores when you can simply wait for this super shopping day?

We’re pretty good at waiting ... when it’s to our great monetary advantage.

And it’s important to realize that waiting is to our great spiritual advantage too!

 So please listen to the Church ...

regarding the upcoming celebration of Christmas.

The Church in her wisdom has intentionally placed a special 4-week long  Season

in front of Christmas in order to help us to slow down

and patiently wait for 2 very important events.   

No ... they’re not related to a sale … they’re related to salvation, your salvation!

This special Season is called “the Advent Season” and it has a 2-fold purpose.

First of all, it’s a time to prepare ourselves to remember and celebrate ...

the First Coming of Jesus Christ that took place 2023 years ago.

It’s important to realize how the Chosen People of God in the Old Testament

yearned for God to show Himself to them.

In today’s First Reading, the Prophet Isaiah writing 500 years before the

First Christmas, begs God, “Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down.”

And another 500 years before that the Psalmist wrote the plea we heard in Ps. 80:

“Rouse your power and come to save us.”

So you see, believers in the unseen God, had to wait a long time, hundreds of years before God did indeed come down.  He came down from heaven in the person of Jesus Christ and finally ...  God was with us.

We call this the Incarnation … God becoming man and being present to us.

So awesome is this event in all of history that we make a reverential bow when we refer to the Incarnation as we refer to it in reciting our Creed.

After we say, “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven,”

we then bow as we say,

“and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”

So the 1^st purpose of the 4-week season of Advent is to reflect on God’s great love for us in that He would send His only-begotten Son to save us from sin and death.

This Christmas will mark the 2023^rd Birthday of Jesus. With joyful anticipation, we patiently await the day when we celebrate the Birthday of the Savior of the world.

We don’t celebrate for the whole 2 months leading up to His Birthday.

No, we celebrate His Birthday on His Birthday and use the time before it in joyful anticipation. Just as we celebrate our own Birthday … we wait until it comes!

The 2^nd purpose of the Advent season is to prepare ourselves to be ready for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when He will come to this Earth once again …

 not as Redeemer … but as Judge ... to judge all people on the Last Day.

We profess this truth in our Creed when we say,

“He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.”

St. Paul refers to this in our Second Reading today from his First letter to the Corinthians calling us to make use of the grace bestowed on us at Baptism as

“(we) wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Then, Paul encourages us,

“to remain firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

In each of the 4 Gospels, Jesus promised that He will come again.

When will that be? We don’t know. But we do know that we need to be ready.

In today’s Gospel from Mark ... Jesus warns, “Be watchful, be alert!”

If Jesus came to call you home today ... would you ready to meet Him?

Are you ready to meet the Lord? Are you in the state of Grace or in the state of Sin? Now is the time to think about your relationship with Jesus.

Don’t be fooled by our culture that jumping into a shopping frenzy

is the  most important thing to do.

Now there’s nothing wrong with giving gifts at Christmas,

but on your list of places you need to go, such as:

Go to Lowes,

Go to Best Buy,

Go to Sams,

be sure you add … Go to Confession!

There’s just no better way to prepare for Christmas ...

than to reconcile your heart and soul with Jesus, the merciful Judge.

It’s the greatest gift you can give yourself. And it’s free! It doesn’t cost a dime.

And there’s no coupon required.   And you don’t have to wait for a certain day.

God’s mercy is ever available

All it takes is for you to examine your conscience ... have sincere sorrow for your sins ... and then confess them in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

The beauty of your soul is far more important to God ...

than the beauty of your House or your Tree.

You’re free to spend your time any way you wish.

And you can end up having the most beautiful Christmas Tree,

and the most decorated house in the neighborhood.

But when Jesus comes, He’ll only be judging your soul!

So you see, the season of Advent is a season of joyful ... yet devout preparation.

Be careful. It’s so easy to get swept up in the hustle-bustle of the season. Merchandisers want you to jump into the shopping frenzy to be ready for Christmas.

The Church says differently.

The Church guides you to purify your soul to be ready for Christmas.

The decorations on your house and the gifts that you give will some day go away, but your immortal soul will live forever. That realization should help you to spend the appropriate amount of time preparing for each.

There’s a difference between the Holiday Season and the Advent Season.

Society wants us to start celebrating Christmas beginning as early as Halloween.

The Church, on the other hand, wants us to celebrate Christmas when it really occurs, December 25^th,

and use the time before Christmas

to contemplate the reality of Jesus’ First and Second Coming. 

Please trust the wisdom of the Church and use these next 4 weeks of Advent

for some personal, prayerful reflection

on the wonder of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Think of how He came to us some 2023 years ago to open the Gates of Heaven

and how He promised to come again to see if we’re ready for Heaven!

Remember Jesus’ warning in the Gospel, “What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

In these 4 verses, Jesus uses the word “watch” 4 times!

We need to take Him seriously. We need to watch what we’re doing

We need to be on the watch for Him so that we’re ready to greet Him.

If you take the time to prepare yourself for His Second Coming, then you’ll receive the most precious Christmas gift ever, the gift of Eternal Life with God in heaven.

Don’t be distracted by the world.

It’s not about just waiting ... for a sale.

Rather, it’s about waiting ... each and every day ... for Salvation!