The liturgy accompanies us as we begin the season of Advent with one word: “Watch!” What does it mean for me to watch without ceasing; not to fall asleep precisely at the most delicate moment?
Texts taken from “Messalino – On Your Word” November-December 2020
1st Sunday of Advent (A)
1st week of the Psalter
FIRST READING
From the book of the prophet Isaiah (Is 63:16b-17,19b;64:2-7)
You, Lord, are our father; from of old you are called our redeemer. Why, Lord, do you let us stray from your ways and harden our hearts, so that we do not fear you? Return for the sake of your servants, for the sake of the tribes that are your inheritance. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down! Before you the mountains would quake. When you did awesome deeds we did not expect, you came down and the mountains quaked before you. No ear has ever heard, no eye has ever seen, that any God besides you should do such things for those who trust in him. You meet those who gladly do what is right and remember your ways. See, you are angry because we have sinned against you for a long time and have been rebellious. We have all become like something unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our iniquities have carried us away like the wind. No one called on your name; no one roused himself to cling to you, because you had hidden your face from us and given us over to our iniquity. But, Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you are the one who fashions us; all of us are the work of your hands. – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the first reading
“But, Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you are the one who fashions us; all of us are the work of your hands.” This passage resembles a wonderful stammering prelude to Jesus’ prayer: the Our Father. It begins and ends by addressing the Father. In between we find an entire life of concrete prayer: doubt, memory, invocation, repentance, and also shame. Keeping this relationship with God fixed in our eyes and hearts, after the problems comes a “but”: “But, Lord, you are our father.” It is God’s surprise, almost his playful jest, his benevolent joy and irony. He, the Almighty, is not rejecting or turning you away; quite the opposite. We need only remain constantly attentive to this shift from a minor key (sad or anxious) to a melody in a major key (joyful, solemn). That famous “but” is like a trumpet sounding in the desert, or at the city gates, or in the center of the camp: it tells us to pay the utmost attention. It presents the heart of the message: “The Lord is our father!” We are left stunned, learning every day, and once and for all, the filial attitude: docile clay.
SECOND READING
From the first letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (1 Cor 1:3-9)
Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, for in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord! – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the second reading
Saint Paul emphasizes praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, the true protagonist of this Advent liturgical season. He has always lived, in the mystery of eternity and Love, with the Father. He came, participating in the creation of the world: “All things were made through him.” Through the Holy Spirit, he truly became man and God in the womb of Mary Most Holy. He comes every day and at every moment, even amid the tragedies and darkest situations of our lives. And he will come at the end of time to “recapitulate” (cf. Eph 1:10) every person and thing in himself. Yes, “recapitulate.” This verb indicates that our history is truly spread out, a collection of written pages tossed haphazardly on the ground, as if someone had taken a large book, removed its cover, and scattered one page after another by tearing them from the orderly binding. How often we genuinely struggle to see the thread running through our own existence, that of our loved ones, and of the whole world. But truly “God is faithful,” and in the waiting for and birth of Christ he enables us to find meaning amid so much confusion.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Mark (Mk 13:33-37)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves his house and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore! You do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” – The Gospel of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel of the day
The liturgy accompanies us as we begin the season of Advent with this passage, so deeply marked by the theme of watching. “Watch!” Mark repeats it three times in five lines. What does it mean for me to watch without ceasing; not to fall asleep precisely at the most delicate moment? It is comparable to the situation of a young man who has a date with his girlfriend: if he is truly fond of her and cares for her, while she (of course) is late, does he immediately lose hope or continue preparing with ever greater intensity? Returning to the Gospel passage, I also like to emphasize the fact that the master of the house “placed his servants in charge.” Looking at the perspective of the whole word of God, we see that they actually possess an incomparable dignity that cannot be erased. The parable of the “Merciful Father” or the “Prodigal Son” comes to mind, even though the dynamic is exactly the opposite: here it is the master who is awaited. The Father (God), nevertheless, finds a way to teach us the meaning of waiting, that same attitude in which each of us is called to become proficient: “While he was still far off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him” (Lk 15:20).
