We begin the season of Advent with readings that direct our gaze to the ultimate and the immediate realities of our lives. The First Sunday of Advent looks to history’s end. For Christians that’s not the stuff of horror movies but the anticipation of Christ’s Coming in Glory, a time when all of creation reaches fulfillment. The first Christians thought they were on the threshold of that day and made plans accordingly. That’s the idea behind Paul’s telling the Romans, “Our salvation is near.”
November 30, 2025
In today’s gospel Jesus says, “Stay awake! At an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Watching day and night for the end worked for a few decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, but there came a time when even the most faithful couldn’t keep standing on tiptoe. Seeing signs of the end of the world in every cul-de-sac does not usually lead to a peaceful and productive life.
The Christians of the second and third generation had to radically realign their expectations, because they realized that if they had been right, the end would have already come. When we carefully check what Jesus had to say about the end, we discover that he was remarkably sparing when it came to details. His only unequivocal statement was: “You do not know on which day your Lord will come.”
The conundrum of this reading makes me think of some of my Ecuadorian friends, many of them people with disabilities who live at the base of one of the most active volcanoes in South America. Mount Tungurahua is either smoking or rumbling around 50% of the time and the towns below are always on alert – with the danger level moving unpredictably from yellow to orange to red and back. They have learned to live with it. They have their backpacks ready with water, medicines, flashlights and matches. They all know the routes to safety zones. They stay prepared and do their ordinary jobs. Some women really grind corn like those in the gospel, others work at the computer, drive taxis, give physical therapy, farm, or teach and preach. Life goes on even as they remain vigilant, alert to what could change everything in a literal flash. Such living has taught them to be watchful without being nervous, an emotional balancing act that flowers into wonderful gratitude for each day and hour because they know how precious and precarious life is.
The readings for this First Sunday of Advent invite us to focus on the end, not to emphasize our vulnerability but to remember where we’re going. That’s what Isaiah is trying to teach his people as he paints a picture of life as it is meant to be. Isaiah addressed a people who had lost faith because they’d lost their prosperity with words as majestic as any music Handel ever composed, Isaiah painted a vision of God’s city where all the nations would come to worship and learn to live in peace. And then, lest they sit contentedly in their rockers humming “The Impossible Dream,” Isaiah shouts, “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!”
Paul echoed Isaiah with his wake-up call to the Romans. At a time when Christians were expecting the triumphant return of Christ at any moment, Paul tried to help them keep their balance between their daily life and what was to come. That’s the essential tension of the Christian life: to appreciate the moment for all that it is worth in the light of the coming of the Kingdom of God.
Advent calls us to remember what we so often repeat in our Eucharistic celebration, “Christ will come again [in glory].” That means that creation is always moving toward genuine fulfillment. That means that Isaiah’s vision of peace, of converting weapons into farming tools is not only possible, but that God is offering us a strategic plan for its accomplishment. Paul calls us to wake up to that reality. Jesus tells us to be attentive to the possibilities in every moment.
What we know for sure is that God’s future is happening, will happen and comes about in unexpected ways. The folks who live at the base of the volcano can give us hints about trying to be prepared. They know that someday – tomorrow or in 500 years – Tungurahua will change everything around it because the volcano is alive. We believe the same of the Kingdom of God. The invitation of Advent is to allow our future to realign our expectations and to remember the glorious promise of the future so that it can radically transform our present.
Reflection Questions
- What inspires you in the scripture or reflection for this week?
- What did you find challenging?
- What concrete actions can we take individually and/or in our communities, this week and for the longer-term future in response to the call we hear this week?