1st Sunday of Advents–Year 2010

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts.

Today once more, we begin the season of Advent.
The first candle is lit on the Advent Wreath
There are 4 weeks until Christmas.

With Black Friday
The secular preparations have begun in earnest and yes there is lots to get done.

On the first Sunday of Advent
It is fitting that all of us ask ourselves…
Are we ready?
Are we ready to be the people God wants us to be
Are we ready to make room for the Lord Jesus in our lives and in our hearts.
Are we more ready today than we were last year on the first Sunday of Advent?

You know when I was a kid on St. Paul Court… in Cheektowaga NY
when we were playing hide and seek… we used to yell
Ready of not here I come.
Today the Church says ready or not here He comes…

Have we made a place for God in our lives?
Have we let go of the vices that hold us back from giving our lives to Christ and sharing our lives with each other?
Are we ready to love like God loves?

For the little ones here in this Church this may be their 5th or 6th or 18th Advent.
For me its number 55
Some of you even have more Advents under your belt.
As we look back over the years and all the opportunities we’ve had to prepare a place in our heart for Christ…

How much progress have we made?
Or
Has our resolution to become a better person, a holy person
been as flimsy as our resolution to try and lose weight.

Today’s readings.. give us a lot of options to help us prepare a better place in our lives and in our heart for God.

The first readings speaks of turning from violence

Have we turned our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hook ?
I don’t think many people here in this church are physically violent
at least I hope not….
However,
this is still an area where we may need to improve.
Even angry thoughts, and bitter words cannot be a part of a Christians’ life.

In the second reading
St. Paul gives us a veritable list of things which we may have to change
drunkenness,
lust,
rivalry
jealousy
just to name a few..

All of these things get in the way of allowing Christ into our hearts.

When our heart is filled with lust or jealousy there is simply no room for others and no room for Christ.
All of these things hold us back and make it harder for us to love our neighbor.

When the people during Noah’s time saw him build the ark and thought he was crazy. They simply dismissed him.
As he and his sons labored on the ark they did not see a clear sign for them to change their hearts.

They lulled themselves into a kind of spiritual haze or complacency as they lived their lives “business as usual”
By the time Noah got into the ark it was too late for them to build an ark of their own or make the necessary changes in their lives.

Advent is here…

Let’s us not take this wonderful opportunity for conversion for granted

Ready or not here he comes…

Amen