OMELIE / Omelie EN

27/11/2011

I Avvento B 27/11/2011

27/11/2011 – 1st Sunday in Advent Season - Year B

1Reading Is 63,16-17.19;64,1-7 Psalm 79 2Reading 1Cor 1,3-9 Gospel Mk 13,33-37

“Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down”! These words could express and summerize all the emotions in the heart of the believers as they watch the big crisis and the sinful situations of the people. Sin bring upon each and everyone and all great punishments, or, if the word punishment is not right, they bring forth tremendous consequences and death.

The prophet Isaiah spoke to his people like this, but we can apply it also to us today. Wherever we look we become witnesses of great disobbedience to God, giver of life and source of fraternity. We see, therefore, not only killings and suicides, but also the promotion for abortion and divisions in the families, clear injustices in courts with the blessing of corrupted judges, abuse of the poor with the aim to enrich oneself, frauds and robbery at small and great levels, bringing low the human sexuality, abuse of the little ones to satisfy the pleasure of the mature, and every kind of violence. They are all sins and at the same time punishments, or pain caused by sins. What Isaiah says, can be applied for our days. The situation is so bad that no one seem to know as what to do. The only way needs to come from above: the redimy is the coming of God himself, the God of peace and justice, the God who loves the little and the poor who trust in him. “Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down”! God needs to come to teach again men the way of justice and peace, needs to come to forgive disobbedience and to redemy to the wrong done by sins. If he comes, our situation shall be renewed and we can breath again, and love for life.

Jesus in the Gospel assurses us of his coming: God loves all men and he would never abbondon them! But they need to be watchful, to be ready. They would be in trouble if he upon his return he wont find anyone ready to welcome him. He comes, but who is aware? He wont come to impose himself, in a way to force men to cancel the gift of freedom he gave them. And how to be ready? The Lord suggests a simple way: each and everyone is commissioned to do something towards others; the one who is dedicated to a received ministry with generosity, this, then, when he shall come again, wont be found sleeping.

St. Paul enjoys the fact that the christians, even those of the great city of Corinth, so full of sins, have received many charisms, many gifts to use in serving one another. These gifts, material and spiritual, if worked out, keep the community and the single believers ready to welcome the Lord when he shall come. From he himself, then, a certain energy shall reach us to bring to completion our tasks here on earth to be ready for heaven.

Let us begin the Advent Season of the new liturgical cycle listening to these exhortations. Let us realize that we need continously his coming and his presence. We are sinners, we have deviated from the way of truth and communion with God, we have gathered mistakes that impeed to our eyes to see and to our heart to love. Let us continuously lift up the cry of the prophet: “Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down”! Likewise we renew the desire to meet again our God who is able to change our lives according to his teachings. Thus we prepare ourselves to meet him, both at the end of times, and his continous coming in these times of trail in which we find ourselves. We prepare ourselves with renewed and holy desires to live a Christimas worthy of the one who is coming, so that he can feel being accepted. The feast we celebrate will be his and not to nurture our selfishness and our superficialtity!

“Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down”!