Matthew 24:37-44
The Armor of Light
by Rev. Jack Peterson
Reprinted with permission of "The Arlington Catholic
Herald"
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Matthew wrote to show that Christ
was the
Messiah and fulfilled the Jewish prophecies.
Jesus
said to his disciples: "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the
coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered
the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in
the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be
grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore,
stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be
sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the
thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken
into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come."
Advent is a wonderful,
grace-filled season for followers of Christ. I can think of a dozen
reasons for saying so, but for this reflection, allow me to focus on three.
First, let's turn to the
enduring image of light. One brutal element of winter is the reality of
short days and long nights. I greatly dislike the fact that the sun sets
around 5 p.m. at this time of the year in Virginia. It is dark when most
people head home from work. Children are limited in the time after school
that they can play outside. The extended darkness combined with the cold
seems to draw the energy out of you, particularly in the evenings.
Advent addresses the cloud
of darkness that hangs over us by proclaiming the reality that Jesus Christ is
the light of the world. A powerful, reinforcing line from the hymn of
Zechariah that many folks pray each morning during the Liturgy of the Hours
states: "In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break
upon us." Jesus comes to dispel the darkness of this world and fill it
with His light.
During the great season,
the church makes use of the Advent wreath, lighting an additional candle during
each of the four weeks of Advent. We use these wreaths in many other
settings as well, including our homes, schools and offices. Additional
lights and candles are also common in nearly every form of decoration connected
with Advent and Christmas. Every image of the Nativity scene has a warm
glow emanating from the face of the Infant Savior. The prevalent use of
light in Advent proclaims our belief that Jesus is the everlasting light.
He is the rising Sun that never sets.
Jesus enlightens our
existence by revealing to us the face of our Heavenly Father and bearing witness
to the truth. Additionally, Jesus bestows upon us the warmth of God's love
and merciful embrace. Additionally, the very existence of Christ in our
hearts and lives brings energy and motivation to love sacrificially and builds
up the kingdom of God on this earth.
A second reason that
Advent is so wonderful is that it commences the church's new liturgical year.
It is New Year's Day in the church's liturgical calendar. Beginnings are
always exciting, in part because they are a chance to start anew.
Jesus greatly desires to
give us newness of life. We all need to be made anew. It begins, of
course, with His merciful love. God's mercy is so fantastic not just
because it is bottomless, unearned and lovingly bestowed, but because it is
healing and renewing. God's mercy wipes away our sins, but it also
transforms us into a brand new creation. We are given the chance to start
all over again. This is an enormous grace. Just think of St. Peter
(the "Rock" who denied Jesus), St. Matthew (the tax collector), and the woman
who barges into the Pharisee's house (known in town as a sinner).
St. Paul, in our second
reading for today, connects the Advent themes of light and newness of life: "the
night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of
darkness and put on the armor of light." St. Paul directly connects the
"darkness" with our ugly sins. Our sins cause a cloud that hands over us
and drags us down in powerful ways. Christ, our light and our Savior,
dispels the darkness of sin. St. Paul reminds us that Advent is also a
time or repentance and conversion of heart.
A third reason why Advent
is a season of grace is that it is a time of preparation. In today's
Gospel, Jesus says to us, "you also must be prepared." There are many
blessings that come with our efforts to prepared of important events. Just
ponder all of the effort and graces that flow from preparing for graduation from
college, receiving the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of confirmation, and
gathering the extended family for morn and dad's 50th wedding anniversary.
These preparations require effort. The prophet Isaiah uses the language of
climbing a mountain: "Come, let us climb the Lord's mountain, to the house of
the God of Jacob that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his
paths."
In Advent, we prepare for
our Christian celebration of the coming of Christ into our world. The
church, in fact, invites us to ponder three distinct "comings" of Christ: His
birth as a child in a stable, His return at the end of the ages as King and
Judge of heaven and earth, and His coming into our hearts as men and women of
faith. We look backward with faith, enormous gratitude and abundant grace
for each of us and all who are dear to us. May it be a season of light,
new life and grace-filled preparation.
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