First Sunday of Advent

Today's Mass Readings

Today we begin a very special time in the life of the Church – the season of Advent. This is also the beginning of a new liturgical year. The readings during this season remind us of God’s saving works on our behalf and remind us of our own role as the people of God. The very first sentence of the very first reading on the first Sunday of Advent says, “You, Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer you are named forever” (Is 63:16b). We find a similar profession of faith in today’s second reading. Paul says in the letter to the Corinthians, “God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ” (I Cor 1:9). When the people of Israel made their profession of faith, they were exiles in Babylon. They sat by the rivers of Babylon and became aware of the graciousness of God, who time and time again proved himself to be their father, their redeemer and the one who shaped their destiny. As they sat in exile, they long for their God to come once again and be their father, their redeemer. They long for God to once again be their destiny.

But as they sat there, they also became aware of their own character. They realized the kind of people they are… unfaithful, rebellious, pompous, and unclean. So they confess to God and say, “Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful; all of us have become like unclean people, all our good deeds are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our guilt carries us away like the wind” (Is 64:4b-5). They realized the implications of their infidelity and sin. The realization, then, led them to confession and total surrender to God. The first reading ends with the words, “We are the clay and you are the potter” (Is 64:7). The final resolve of the Israelites in Babylon is to allow God to shape them into a certain kind of people. They invite God to mould and shape their character. They invite God to determine their destiny.

The people of Israel recognized that the ultimate purpose of their lives could only be discovered in God. That is why they prayed, “O Lord, we are the clay and you are the potter." They realized their lives could have meaning only if God was in there. They thus made a surrender of their lives to God, allowing God to shape and form their lives.

Our greatest act of preparation can be nothing more than this very prayer, “O Lord, we are the clay and you are the potter!” Our greatest act of preparation is to be like the servant in today’s gospel reading – watchful and alert. Our greatest act of preparation is to allow God to shape our lives, our destiny. Our greatest act of preparation is to surrender ourselves to Christ as disciples.

Let the journey of advent begin!

- Fr. Satish Joseph