02 Sunday, Second Sunday in Advent (C)
2nd Sunday in Advent
Cycle C Baruch 5:1-9; Psalm 126 1-6; Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6
The Glory of God
This week, as I looked at the scriptures for the Sunday Liturgy, I was filled with awe as I noticed how many times the word Glory was used, several times in the very first reading. The prophet is speaking of the wonders and majesty of the Glory of God.
The Psalm Response will remind us of what happens when we experience that Glory. The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.
Have you ever had an experience of something really Glorious? Perhaps it was a beautiful opera that filled your being with its sounds, or, it could have been a most wonderful sunset sky that filled your very soul with its beauty and splendor. Maybe it was a very intense feeling of God’s presence during a time of prayer. Think back over your entire life and try to recapture that moment when you experienced a little taste of the Glory of God. As you try to recall those joyful moments remember they were fleeting moments that stirred you for just a minute or two, but the Glory of God is eternal and is unimaginable to us now.
If you were to be invited to a Royal Banquet to dine with a Royal Family you would.
Spend hours preparing and making sure you were properly dressed for the banquet. That banquet is nothing compared to the majesty and Glory of the Royal Banquets in the palaces of kings and queens, for even their banquets are dull compared to the Heavenly Banquet where the Glory of God makes all other earthly Glory pale in comparison. By our baptism, you and I have received an official invitation to the Heavenly Banquet that is to come. Ponder that thought this week each time you hear the word Glory and notice the number of times in our prayers where we speak of the Glory of God and don’t take it for granted. “Glory be to the Father”. Think of it every time you pray the Glory be to the father, let joy fill your soul as you look forward to the coming of the Glory of God but make sure that you are properly dressed in grace for the reception or you will not be allowed to enter heaven for a great reception prepared for all those who love and server God now in this life. Think back over your life so far and think of the most Glorious moments you had here on earth: It is nothing compared to the eternity that awaits those who have known and served God in this life here on earth. Don’t just go to Church at Christmas. He expects to see you each Sunday in Church. That is why it is called the Lord’s Day.
Advent is, looking forward to, and preparing for, Christmas Celebrations. It is a time each year when we celebrate Christ Our Savior’s birthday at the end of the four weeks of waiting for it to come. It comes and goes quickly. Are we really prepared for the time when Jesus will come again in Glory? How do we prepare for that Glorious time of eternity? Be ready and not taken by surprise. It will be a Glorious moment for those who have followed Christ and worshiped Him on earth. Alleluia.