November 29, 2009

Jeremiah 33:14-16  Psalm: 25  1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2  Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.   Robert Frost.

1. The first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru kept these words of Canadian Poet, Robert Frost on his desk. It was a life time ideal which he tried to achieve. Men of integrity always try to keep their word, and often they have to pay a high price.

Our liturgy today on this First Sunday of Advent could be summed up in three words: Promise, Hope, Vigil.

Jeremiah the prophet speaks of God’s promise to the exiles. The promise was made when they were first taken into exile. God promised to send a Deliverer. However this deliverance was not immediate. The People of Israel began to despair. They were apathetic about their religious customs and traditions. Now the promise will be fulfilled. A Saviour would be raised from the House and Line of David. Many years later after the Resurrection, the Christians would identify Jesus Christ as being the Saviour who was promised.

2. The Gospel is apocalyptical in its setting as it was last Sunday. The heavenly elements, the sun, moon and stars will malfunction and be thrown into disarray. These will be the first signs of the Last Judgment. The people will be in confusion. They will despair like the People of Israel in the reading from Jeremiah.  But Jesus will also give them a promise. There will be a Saviour. He will be the Son of Man. For those who have not walked in the path of righteousness, this Son of Man will come in judgment and hence they will be terrified. For those who have been faithful. There will be no cause to be afraid. They are to stand up straight. They are to hold their head up high. There will be glory for those who have fought the good fight and have finished the course.

“The Boy stood on the burning deck, whence all but he had fled.”

3. The poem Casabianca was written by Felicia Hemans. It is a story of a young boy caught up in the war between the French and British in the Battle of the Nile.   It was the 28^th of July 1798. The boy was told by his French father to stay on the deck, till he came to meet him. The British had set the L’Orient on fire. It was full of munitions and it was going to blow up. In the middle of the flames, they saw the boy standing courageously at his post. Unfortunately the father had died, and could not hear the boy’s cry  "My father, must I stay?" The account of that boy who stood on that burning deck was told and retold until it has become a legend.

The boy trusted in a father who loved him. He trusted in his father who gave his word that he would return. Unfortunately we humans are limited and we can fall short. God can not only give the Word, but can also fulfil it. It is because of this Knowledge and understanding that Jesus tells us to

• Stand erect
• Hold your heads up high
• Be not afraid, no matter what the physical calamity.

4. For both the Exiles in the time of Jeremiah

 For the Christians awaiting for the second coming,

The message is the same. Your redemption is at hand.  This is the basis of our Hope.

However the hope cannot make us complacent. At the time this Gospel was written there were a certain group of believers, especially in Ephesus who were called the Gnostics. They believed that they were already saved because they had “the knowledge”. It has been revealed to them, and they considered themselves superior. Their salvation was assured, but it had not been completed. They had to be on their guard, or as Paul would say about himself, “having preached to others, I myself might be condemned.”

4b. We see that same advice in our Gospel. Jesus assures us of our hope. Jesus promises us that redemption is near at hand. Nevertheless, we must keep vigilant. We do not know the day or the hour that the Son of Man will arrive. 

In our second reading, Paul shows us the way to keep this vigilance, shows us the way to be alert and on our guard.   He gives us his own example and he gives us advice. His own example is

• A boundless love for all
• His desire to walk the path of righteousness
• His actions are all directed to the praise of God

And he invites us to do the same.

5. A new teacher was given a special assignment. One of the children was in hospital and she was told to go and give him one on one, instructions on nouns and verbs so that he would not fall behind in his grades. On arriving at the hospital, to her horror she found that her student was in the burns unit. He was covered with burns and awfully disfigured. Nevertheless, she plucked up her courage and went in. She cheerfully said, I am here to teach you your nouns and verbs so that you do not fall back on your grades.

The next day as she approached the hospital, she received a message to see the head nurse before going into the ward. She went with fear and trepidation. Gosh, I must have blown it. I am fired. She started her apology even before sitting down. But the head nurse interrupted her. I do not know what you said or did, but that child has shown remarkable improvement in a day. His eyes are bright, he is cooperating with the nurses. He had given up hope until he saw the teacher. They would not send a teacher to work on nouns and verbs with a dying boy, would they?

And so even though we might loose hope in ourselves, God does not!