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Is 2:1-5
Rom 13:11-14
Mt 24:37-44 Preaching on the First Sunday of Advent is an ideal time to remind the faithful of the nature of the entire season. Advent focuses on the Lord’s coming in two ways; the first part of the season focuses on his Second Coming, and the second part focuses on the historical fact of the Incarnation (including the Nativity). The readings today indicate that the Lord’s coming will be unexpected (Gospel), that it will separate good from evil (Gospel), that it has the nature of an invitation (First reading), that it transforms society (First reading), and that because of all these things, we have to change our lives now in order to prepare for it (Second reading). In particular, his coming both demands and enables a change from a culture of death to a culture of life. “Raising the sword” in the first reading does not only refer to war; it refers to any attack on human life and dignity. To “conduct ourselves properly as in the day” (Second reading) and to “walk in the light of the Lord” (First reading) mean that we treat every human life with the respect and protection that it deserves. The Lord’s coming transforms both individual conduct (emphasized in the second reading) and the conduct and policies of entire societies and nations (emphasized in the first reading). Building a culture of life therefore involves both as well. A rededication during Advent to efforts on behalf of the unborn is especially appropriate also because we are preparing to commemorate the birth of God as a baby, who was an unborn baby as well.
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