Fr. Roger J. Landry
Conversations with Consequences Podcast
Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, B, Vigil
December 2, 2023
To listen to an audio recording of the brief homily, please click below:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/catholicpreaching/12.2.23_ConCon_1.mp3
The following text guided the homily:
* This is Fr. Roger Landry and it’s a privilege for me to be with you as we enter into the consequential conversation the Lord Jesus wants to have with each of us this Sunday, when we begin a new liturgical year. Sometimes Catholics find this a little strange, that New Year’s Day in the Church begins on the First Sunday of Advent, rather than about a month from now, but that’s an indication that most of us take our cues more from balls dropping in Times Square or months decreed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC than by the liturgical year that traces the life of Christ from the time when the Jews anxiously awaited his appearance (Advent proper) to ultimately his return in glory, which we celebrated last week with the Solemnity of Christ the King. Jesus said to us over and again in the Gospel, “Follow me!” and each liturgical year we do just that, tracing his footsteps along the route of salvation history, trying to become more and more like him whom we’re following. The liturgical year is not a “same old, same old,” but something that helps us to enter into the mysteries we celebrate far more profoundly than the last time. Like re-reading a great book or watching anew a classic movie, each retracing of the life of Christ is supposed to reveal to us elements we haven’t seen before and remind us of important things that we once knew but have forgotten about the mystery of God, his love for us, and his hopes and plans for us. This is a chance for us to enter more deeply once more into the life of Christ, to accompany him and be accompanied by him as we relive the events of his earthly life and heavenly reality. This may be the last liturgical year we have, because we never know the day or the hour. So let’s make the most of this one and begin it well.
* Jesus speaks to us very clearly in the Gospel this Sunday about how he wants us to start and live this year. He uses two sets of verbs. The first has to do with our alertness. “Wake up!” he shouts. “Stay awake!” he adds. The second set of verbs involves what we’re supposed to do when we’re awake. “Be constantly on guard!” “Be on the watch!” He says in the Gospel that we should be like porters, like door openers, for a man traveling abroad who, he describes, “leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work; and he orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore! You do not know when the lord of the house is coming… May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.” Jesus wants us to be like doorkeepers who are always awake and on guard.
* Here in Manhattan where I live, most of the large apartment complexes have doormen, just like hotels throughout the country. The doormen are quite professional. There are two parts to their job. The first is always to be on the lookout for the arrival of any resident or guest. As soon as they see one arriving, they open the door. If the residents are returning from a trip or shopping, they alertly help as needed, opening up taxi or uber doors and helping transport bags or suitcases into the foyer. But the doormen also have a second job: namely to prevent those who shouldn’t be entering from doing so, something that in an age of terrorism and riots is also crucial.
* Jesus calls us to be spiritual porters, to be doorkeepers. This involves the same two tasks. The first is to be awake and alert to welcome Jesus whenever and from wherever he comes.
