First Sunday of Advent Homily – Year B
Readings:
Isa 63:16 b-17; 64:1, 3b-8; l
Cor 2:3-9
Mk 13133-37
1st Reading – Isaiah 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7
16B You are our Father, O Lord our Redeemer. Your name is beyond all ages.
17 Why have you allowed us to stray from your ways, O Lord? Why have you hardened our heart, so that we do not fear you? Return, for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your inheritance.
19B Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old.
2 They would melt, as if thoroughly burned by fire. The waters would burn with fire, so that your name might be made known to your enemies, so that the nations would be stirred up before your face.
3 From ages past, they have not heard it, and they have not perceived it with the ears. Apart from you, O God, the eye has not seen what you have prepared for those who await you.
4 You have met with those who rejoice in doing justice. By your ways, they will remember you. Behold, you have been angry, for we have sinned. In this, we have continued, but we will be saved.
5 And we have all become like the unclean. And all our justices are like a rag of menstruation. And we have all fallen away, like a leaf. And our iniquities have carried us away, like the wind.
6 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rises up and holds fast to you. You have concealed your face from us, and you have crushed us with the hand of our own iniquity.
7 And now, O Lord, you are our Father, yet truly, we are clay. And you are our Maker, and we are all the works of your hands.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
2 O shepherd of Israel, hearken, from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
3 Rouse your power, and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
15 Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine,
16 and protect what your right hand has planted the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
18 May your help be with the man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
19 Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
2nd Reading – 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Brothers and sisters:
3 Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I give thanks to my God always for you, for the grace of God that is given you in Christ Jesus,
5 That in all things you are made rich in him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6 As the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,
7 So that nothing is wanting to you in any grace, waiting for the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
8 Who also will confirm you unto the end without crime, in the day of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful: by whom you are called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Alleluia – Psalms 85:8
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
8 Show us Lord, your love;
and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – Mark 13:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples:
33 “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.
34 It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
35 Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
36 May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
37 What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”
Homily
Doors and Dormant Doormen
“If the master comes unexpectedly,
he must not you asleep” (Mk)
“Kaka, you’re the only man in the world ‘who’s paid for sleeping!” remarked Joe Dias to the doorkeeper of Premaljyoti, our Jesuit HQ in Ahmedabad. Early l 9805, when things were missing from the open corridors and gardens of Premaljyoti, we suspected that it was the work of the Vaghris, a nomadic group that lived in the slums nearby. It Was Dahyabhai, our parlour-attendant, a Vaghri himself, who advised us to hire a Vaghri to keep watch and terminate the thieving. It worked. We employed a Vaghri leader nicknamed Kaka, who ordered his people to stop stealing from Premaljyoti or else he’d lose his job. Thereafter, Kaka has slept at the doors of Premaljyoti. And, is paid for it!
Not all doorkeepers are as lucky as Kaka. In fact, the doorkeeper described in Mark’s gospel must keep watch “evening, midnight, cockcrow, dawn”! Today, we begin a new liturgical year, the B-cycle, with readings mainly from the Gospel of Mark, supplemented with the Gospel of john. Today, let’s dwell on the symbols. of door and doorkeeper to initiate Adventic preparations.
The first reading is from the ‘psalm of lament’ covering Isa 63:7 to 64:l l. The Israelites return from Babylonian exile with high hopes enkindled by Isaiah’s prophesies. But, nothing seems to happen. So, they long for Yahweh to intervene. “Return!” They plead, “Oh that you would tear open the heavens and comedown!” God must open heaven’s doors and come down. This cry for intervention has long been associated with Advent.
Corresponding to the first reading, today’s psalm (80) is also a community lament, a cry for divine intervention. The “man you have chosen” in the psalm proximately refers to Israel’s king. However, it is also a reference to the Messianic King, Jesus. Thus, the psalm becomes a petition to God to send the Messiah.
In the second reading, Paul glorifies God for the blessings showered upon his’ people. These blessings are ‘charisms’ for ministry. Paul exhorts his people to utilize these talents so that “you may not be without the gifts of the Spirit while you are waiting for our Lord Jesus to be revealed.”
The gospel ‘parable of the doorkeeper’ tells of a man who goes abroad keeping his servants in charge of his house. Instructions to the doorkeeper are, “Stay awake!” That the master will return is sure – when? No one knows. Nonetheless, the doorkeeper must stay at the door; watch everything stored behind it and everyone standing before it.
Doors convey multiple meanings. Closing doors is security but also inhospitality; opening them suggests welcome, but invites trouble. A bashful Indian bride knows not what awaits her as she ceremoniously crosses the doorpost of her in-laws’ house, right foot first. And, many adivasi (aboriginal) friends in south Gujarat do not make pucca doors for their dwellings not because there’s little to be robbed, but mainly because they trust everyone.
Advent reminds us that our mind is a ventilator. Our heart is a window, our self, a door. It’s time now to open our minds to fresh ideas, our hearts to more people, and our lives for deeper commitment to the One who comes, comes, ever comes. Sadly, we busy ourselves with shopping for Christmas. What about stopping for Christ? Stop! Watch! Wait!
Chandan Singh (45) of Konyadang village in Madhya Pradesh, central India, is regarded as a reincarnation of the mythological Kumbhakarna. For the past 20 years Chandran has been sleeping for about 6 months at a stretch, and then wakes up, but only to sleep again for prolonged spells. Isn’t there a spark of Kumbhakarna, Chandan and Kaka in us all?
“Listen, I stand at the door knocking; if- you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you” (Rev 3:20). Doorkeeper, are you awake? Will you open? The door so that He will dine with you this Christmas?