First Sunday of Advent—Romans 13:11-14

Happy Liturgical New Year! At the outset of this new year, the Holy Spirit just issued a wake-up call in today’s second reading. This Advent Season, we need to wake up from our spiritual lethargy.

Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. Jesus, our salvation, is coming. That’s what Advent is all about. The word Advent simply means "Coming." At the same time, we remember Jesus first coming in history, we live his continual coming in the liturgy and in our private prayer, and we prepare for his final coming at the end. The end of time and the end of my time on this earth are nearer now than when I first believed in Jesus. The Holy Spirit’s wakeup call is an invitation to reexamine how well I put on the armor of light and where I am still making provision for the desires of the flesh.

Advent isn’t Lent, but it is a penitential season of preparation (both seasons are marked by the color purple, a sign of penance and preparation). On this First Sunday of Advent, this second reading invites you and me to take stock of where our desires are out of control and reign them in. Perhaps this Advent is a good time for a mini-Lent. Instead of giving up something, just limit it until Christmas.

Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, God is reminding us that the perfect present, the perfect party, and the perfect Facebook post all are fleeting, even if they are good. This time of year often is a time of excess: too much food, too much drink, too many gifts, too much spending, too much travel, too many parties. I don’t think the Lord is asking us to give up those things. I do think he is asking each of us to find the proper joy that each one can bring.

Amid all that comes with the month of December, can we recognize the coming of the Lord? He’s closer now than he was on Thanksgiving.