Sunday 29th November 2020. (1st Advent)
Mark 1, 1-8:
We begin this Sunday the season of Advent. During the liturgical year we will contemplate the fundamental moments of the Lord’s life. In this season of Advent we prepare to commemorate his first coming.
In St. Mark’s Gospel on this first Sunday we are called upon to be vigilant, to be prepared for when the Lord comes.
Sometimes we find people who say they do not need God; that He has no influence on their lives. They live as if they have everything. They feel the (ephemeral) security that money, power, or success can give them. Somehow they feel “self-sufficient”. At least for the time being.
Others need to keep the hope of a better future alive, for us and for those around us. We feel the need for a Saviour to lend a hand so that we can do something for those who need it most. Because alone we can do very little. We ought to ask “come, Lord, do not delay”, and convey to others the confidence that a new land is possible.
Our life must be a commitment to work for the Kingdom of God. To live it in this way is to “keep awake”, to be prepared, even though we know “neither the day nor the hour” of his coming. We need to learn to wait.
Happy Advent season and Hope!
Juan Ramón Gómez Pascual, cmf
