Scripture:
Revelation 22:1-7
Luke 21:34-36
Reflection:
It’s the last day of the year…of the liturgical year, that is. Tomorrow is the First Sunday of Advent, the start of a new cycle in the Church year.
The psalm response for today leans into Advent with its refrain, “Come, Lord Jesus.” It is hard to hear the exact intonation of these words. Are they pleading, a tone of imploring? Or are they intoned with confidence, a readiness to meet the Lord?
I choose to believe that on this cusp of Advent we can stand tall and confident. We stand in hope and not despair. Certainly, each of us can point to all the things that can drag us down and wear us out. The senseless murders of guiltless people who are just living their lives. The explosion of those experiencing homelessness because they can’t afford rent or because of addiction. The degradation of the Earth. Political paralysis and religious extremism.
The Gospel for today has Jesus encouraging us to not be weighed down by the anxieties of life but to “have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” To live our faith is to live with joy. Why then do so many who profess their faith in God have so much anger and use so many vulgarities? Where is the joy that should be the outward sign of their Christian faith?
Amid the tribulations that are very real, I choose—even if imperfectly—to be joyful, confident in praying, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and was the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.