First Sunday of Advent (December 1)
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First Sunday of Advent
December 1, 2024
Gospel: Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36
Jesus said to his disciples:
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Source: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120124.cfm
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Visual Arts
The Last Judgement, Wassily Kandinsky, 1912 Wassily Kandinsky’s The Last Judgment invites us into the Advent season with an emotional tour de force expressed in color, line, and form. An example of abstract art, The Last Judgment is not narrative or descriptive, but rather expressive. It shows emotion and force and invites the viewer to experience them visually.Recalling Luke chapter 21, we are in a scene that is frightening but redemptive, tumultuous but glorious. We are also invited to feel the tension that animates us towards hope.Click on the video to learn more about the artwork!
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Music
Soon
Sarah Hart, 2024LyricsYour people wait in darkness now
But know the night will not be lasting
Beyond a shadow of the clouds
We see the light that love is casting
And soon it will illuminate the earth
As we behold the rising sun
Your people wait in darkness now
But soon the dawn of Christ will come
Your people wait in silence now
But know the Word will soon be spoken
A word that will proclaim our God
And speak the truth our hearts will hope in
The sun will pierce the emptiness we knewReturning unto us our songYour people wait in silence nowBut soon the Word of Christ will comeYour people wait in wonder nowFor what our faith in God has promisedA savior who with mercy comesA child bringing peace among usThis life redeeming us from sin and graveWith love that is for everyoneYour people wait in wonder nowFor soon the love of God is bornYour people wait in darknessBut soon the dawn of Christ will come
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Poetry Advent Thomas Merton (American Trappist Monk) Charm with your stainlessness these winter nights, Skies, and be perfect! Fly, vivider in the fiery dark, you quiet meteors, And disappear. You moon, be slow to go down, This is your full! The four white roads make off in silence Towards the four parts of the starry universe. Time falls like manna at the corners of the wintry earth. We have become more humble than the rocks, More wakeful than the patient hills. Charm with your stainlessness these nights in Advent, holy spheres, While minds, as meek as beasts, Stay close at home in the sweet hay; And intellects are quieter than the flocks that feed by starlight. Oh pour your darkness and your brightness over all our solemn valleys, You skies: and travel like the gentle Virgin, Toward the planets' stately setting, Oh white full moon as quiet as Bethlehem!
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Reflection
Weekly Parishioner REflection
- What might you need to detach from in order to be better prepared for Jesus's coming? How can you make space for him in your heart?
- How can you balance the vigilance God asks from us with trust in God's goodness, love, and desire to save all of us?
- How could you "lift your soul" to God this week? How might you carve out a little space in stillness so that you can listen to God's loving voice?
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O God, grant that we may desire you, and desiring you, seek you, and seeking you, find you, and finding you, be satisfied forever.
Francis Xavier, 1506-1552
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