• 1st Advent (A), November 27, 2005
• Make a Space for the Lord in Our Lives

• Today we begin the season of Advent.
• It is a season of preparation and of expectation.
• Since Christmas decorations in the stores and malls began in earnest right after Halloween,
• All who come to church today will have already heard carols and Santa Claus jingles.
• Tonight we will celebrate with the Annual Hollywood Christmas parade.
• Yet, our Scriptures today are monastic and stark: “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
• We cannot help but sense the contrast between our outside life and what is happening today as we enter church.
• Look around, and listen to the liturgical readings, songs and prayers.
• Advent doesn’t begin with cheery anticipation of the birth of Christ.
• Nor does the beginning for the new church year start with typical New Year’s celebrations.
• Instead, we are called to sobriety and discernment, rare commodities in the mall scenes, as Jesus’ warning sounds in our ears, “Be constantly on the watch! Stay awake!”
• No, this gospel isn’t from the beginning of Mark’s gospel, rather it is taken from the farewell discourse and a chapter away from Jesus’ arrest.
• In this section of Mark, Jesus describes the destruction of the temple and his return in glory.

• No one has to tell us how late, long and dark our wait has turned out to be.
• We see plenty of evidence around us of the dark night:
• The forgotten poor or our hurricane-savaged South;
• Terrorist bombings;
• Huge sums of money diverted to support a frustrated military effort;
• Neglect of the fragile in civil-war and drought-afflicted African countries;
• Youth wasted on drugs, while drug lords around the world rake in billions;
• The elderly without funds for desperately needed medications;
• Our natural resources abused and over-used;
• Pakistani earthquake victims stranded in the winter mountains, because the U.N. lacks funds to get help to them.
• How long is the night? Very long. How dark is it? Very dark.

• So, as enjoyable as the Thanksgiving Day reprieve has been, we realize that, we need help.
• We need divine intervention to keep the light of hope, love, and service to neighbor aglow in us, so we can work in the night to be a beacon of hope to others.
• The kind of hope we are talking about isn’t a “cheer-up-every-thing-will-be-okay-in-the-end” kind of hope.
• Rather, it is the hope we have been given to keep us at our task of being “constantly on watch” against anyone or anything that attempts to spread darkness in our world.
• We know there is only one Master of the house and we will act as his faithful servants.
• He has given us work to do and his Spirit will enable us to do that work.
• Paul reminds us today that God has “richly endowed” us with the spiritual gifts we need–”every gift of speech and knowledge”–to finish the work given us.
• The good news is that we are not on our own; otherwise, the darkness would overwhelm us.
• In this light, we continue to celebrate Thanksgiving as we do each time we gather at Eucharist.
• Eucharist, after all, is primarily a prayer of thanksgiving.
• In a dark and troubled world, here at this Eucharist:
• We are thankful for Christ’s presence in those around us;
• Thankful for his presence in the sustaining Word;
• Thankful for his Body and Blood, his presence that feeds us and helps us stay vigilant and hopeful during the long night’s work in which we are engaged.

• In this Season of Advent, we open our hearts to prepare a place for the Lord
• The Savoir who brings light to a world shrouded in darkness
• Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, now and forever
• Amen

• A FRANCISCAN BENEDICTION [adapted for Advent]
• May God bless us with DISCOMFORT …At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,So that we may live deep within our heart.May God bless us with ANGER …At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,So that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.May God bless us with TEARS …To shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war.So that we may reach out our hand to comfort themAnd to turn their pain into JOY.And may God bless us with enough FOOLISHNESS…To believe that we can make a difference in this world,So that we can DO what others claim cannot be done.
• And may God Bless us all, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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