Focus on Jesus

First Sunday of Advent
01 December 2019

First reading                                                                  Isaiah 2:1-5
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Second reading                                                    Romans 13:11-14

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; let us live honourably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.

Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Gospel                                                                     Matthew 24:37-44

Jesus said to his disciples, “For as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an least expected hour.”

Reflection

By Theresa Ballo

When I was a child, I would always look forward to Christmas season because of the tremendous joy the season brings. My mom will start to bring out all the Christmas decors and place most of the Christmas lights as façade of our house. She would usually invite me to go shopping for gifts and giveaways and placed it at the bottom of our Christmas tree. As an active member of a parish youth organization in Gagalangin back then, this is a happy season where we gather in the Church after school to practice for Advent songs, Christmas carols and presentations for our annual gift giving activity for street kids.

It was a routine I anticipate but last December was unique for our entire family. June of last year, with just a week notice, we were asked to vacate our house because we lost the demolition case filed by the so-called “landowners”. Seriously, that was the longest week I had in my entire life. That time we had to pack everything inside our house. Some things were given away to our neighbors. Some were sold. The rest was transferred to Bulacan, in my mother’s hometown. I was there to help ease my parents’ anxiety along with my brothers and some friends of the family working together to segregate things and put them inside the boxes. My parents were tight-lipped as the house they built, raised a family and lived for more than 40 years has taken down, brick by brick.

That house was the only house I lived in for 30 years. Here comes Advent season, the boxes with all the Christmas decors went along with other boxes of clothes that were sent to a charitable institution. We had nothing except for the house lights we have at our new simple house in Bulacan. I was not able to join and serve any Advent and Christmas liturgies at St. Joseph Parish. The neighbourhood, that community and that Parish were my comfort zones. Since both of my elder brothers have their own families already, I was left with my parents on Christmas eve last year. I can still recall that night, when I hugged and kissed my parents for Christmas, I knew they were trying their best to be happy but their eyes showed otherwise. I remembered telling them, “Focus on the child Jesus”.  Focus. Jesus. Focus.  

As I was telling it to them, I realized I was actually telling it aloud to myself. Inside my mind were doubts and fear of all the uncertainties. Focus. Jesus. Focus. Focus on the child Jesus. Once again, I get to realize that apart from the material and visible preparations we do this Advent season, our relationship with our loved ones matter even more. Jesus is not asking us to stay awake all night, but to live in the present, so we can recognize the movements of our Lord when he appears in our lives. He shows himself in the unrehearsed moments, the preoccupations and accidents that can throw us off balance. Our Gospel today is teaching us about salvation and the need to remain faithful. It serves to reinforce the necessity for us to re-evaluate our relationships with God and those around us. Will we put today’s reading into action and seek reconciliation with that person or with our God? When our relationships become our primary focus, especially our relationship with Jesus, we will never go wrong. He provided us with everything we need. Our family has a new simple beautiful house in Bulacan right now. This weekend, lights, candles and a tree will be put into place. But more importantly, our experience last year placed a very important lesson in each of the member of our family.

On the First Sunday of Advent, we light the first candle, traditionally a Candle of Hope to remind us to hopefully look for the coming of Jesus. This year as we all start Advent season, let us fill our thoughts with hope. Let us believe that whatever struggles you are facing right now, that too shall pass. Believe and focus on Jesus. 

Prayer

Teach me, Lord, to recognize Your face wherever I encounter You. Inspire me to live in the present and to see You in everything. Keep me to stay focused on You this season despite all the gatherings, distractions, and busyness that season brings. At the end of the day, remind me Lord, that my relationship with You is what truly matters. Amen.