A joyous waiting

If for a believer the final coming of the Lord is a fulfilling end, it is because His advent the first time around was a joyous beginning. The hopeful spirit of joyful anticipation is awakened by the new green shoot that presages new life (Jeremiah 33:14-16). Apathy, more than fear, negates this spirit of joyful anticipation (Luke 21:25-28, 34-36).

The promise that stands

Our first reading for the First Sunday of Advent is an almost exact replication of an earlier oracle (23:5-6) in the same book of Jeremiah. The original prediction was in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the subsequent exile of the people’s elite, around 586 B.C. The prophet had singled out deceitful prophets and priests and the people who sought assistance from and alliance with foreign nations rather than God. In a series of oracles, the focus shifted next to the kings of Judah, now held responsible for the coming devastation because of their personal aggrandizement instead of discharging their sacred duties to protect the life and guarantee the rights of the poor and the powerless.

A ray of hope in this oppressive atmosphere of despair is the prophet’s surprising shift in the oracle (as in a little book of consolation) to a new and promising future of rulers who will act in conformity with the nature of their sacred office. This life beyond the
Babylonian exile means the restoration of Israel and the return to the land. The promise of salvation had become more specific and developed. God would not merely be reviving the past but establishing something new—a new covenant, a new existence for a new Israel.

The just shoot

The consolation to Israel is the promised coming of the righteous branch from the Davidic line (2 Samuel7:14) to rule the land with justice. Hope for the dawn of the new era in Israel hinges on righteousness being restored. In his wise governance, what is right and just in the land shall be done. Thus Israel shall dwell in security. The “just shoot” or “righteous branch” (semah saddiz) would become a classic prophetic term for the messiah or the “anointed one” of the Lord (Isaiah 11:1; Zechariah 3:8, 6:12).

But the exile dragged on and the people were losing hope that Israel would ever be liberated and restored by a successor to David’s throne. That is why a disciple of the prophet or some inspired writer or redactor at a much later time revived the original oracle in our pericope (lacking in the Greek version of Jeremiah!) and tried to bolster the hope of his contemporaries. Through the just shoot justice shall be done, and the renewed Jerusalem would be renamed “The Lord our justice” (Yahweh Sidqenu), inaugurating the new era of God’s saving presence.

Fruitful waiting

Just as the redactor of our first text from Jeremiah had to refresh his contemporaries with the promised advent of the just shoot of David, our evangelist Luke wanted to guide his readers regarding the final advent of Jesus. He was writing to second and third generation Christians of a growing Church of many languages and cultures spread throughout the then known world. The earlier expectation of the believers for an imminent Parousia of the glorious Jesus, as in Paul and Mark, and the consummation of all in their lifetime had been replaced by the realization that their Church is here to stay to continue the work of Jesus.

For Luke, others may be in fear and anxiety about the end, not so with Christians who wait in joy-filled expectation for the return of the Lord. The faithful ones stand erect with heads raised when the Son of Man comes in glory, because redemption is at hand. But in their present situation, the faithful must relate with the Lord according to the values taught by Jesus during his ministry. The quality of their moral response to the call of Jesus must not be based on fear, but on love energized by faith and hope.

To look up to Jesus means to look at the Gospel as proclaimed by the lives of the Christian disciples. That is why Luke counseled against senseless, drunken indulgences and excessive concern with worldly cares. Prayerfulness in particular should characterize the vigilance of the true believers who will not be trapped in surprise but rather ready to stand before the Lord when the day comes.

Alálaong bagá: The assurance that the Word of God imparts to us in the regularity of our liturgical seasons challenges us to an authentic deepening in our moral response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We cannot remain infantile so-to-say in acting or not acting due only to an expected, immediate or later, reward of heaven or punishment of hell. If we have indeed grown morally in our faith, our actions are performed because of an interiorized goal or conviction. Every mature Christian is a public figure who proclaims the Gospel of Jesus to the entire world by the veracity of one’s moral convictions.