Three Comings of the Lord
In his homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent, Father Hanly talks about the three Comings of the Lord.
Readings for First Sunday of Advent, Year A
- First Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5
- Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
- Second Reading: Romans 13:11-14
- Gospel: Matthew 24:37-44
Homily for First Sunday of Advent
Today is the First Sunday of Advent. The word “Advent” means “coming soon.” Who is coming? Of course, it is the Lord Jesus Christ. When will he come? No one knows. Jesus himself never stated the date.
Why didn’t Jesus elaborate on such an important issue? Could it be that he doesn’t even know? He does not want us to know? He intentionally wants us to guess?
Not at all. It is because Advent encompasses three different periods of time. The Holy Church uses the word “Advent” to teach us about three occasions, calling us to prepare ourselves for Jesus’ three comings.
The First Coming. The Holy Church calls believers to prepare for Christmas, the time of the birth of Jesus. During this time, we should prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus, but in what state should our hearts be?
In his teaching, St John tried to tell us: to prepare a humble, obedient, and passionate heart, just like excitedly awaiting the arrival of a beloved friend.
As a result, the Advent season is full of joy. Most people make preparations for parties, send out Christmas cards, buy each other gifts, carry out charitable works, showing their care of each other. These are all appropriate during Advent.
The Second Coming is the time when we die. No one knows when that day will come, whether we die sooner or later. Who can control how long or how short our life will be? Every day of our lives is a gift from God, so Jesus teaches us that every moment of our lives is a kind of waiting, waiting for his coming to take us back to our Heavenly Father. Therefore, Jesus expects us to look forward to the happiness yet to come.
The Third Coming of our Lord Jesus is related to this ever changing world. Jesus said the world belongs to God. We must always bear this important fact in mind. God created this world. He will protect and eventually bring it to wholeness. The day of completion of this world is when Jesus comes for the third time, at the end of the world.
Jesus teaches us that although we may find the world very sad at times – a mixed bag of good and bad, at times honorable but at other times evil, sometimes peaceful but otherwise in conflict – Jesus tells us not to be discouraged because God will make the world perfect. This is God’s holy will and no one can stop it.
Fellow Catholics, Advent is a season full of hope, and hope is the basis for joy. The three comings of Jesus that we hope for are: the joyful Christmas, the joyful meeting with God when we die and return to Him, and the joyful end of the world – all glorious days. Therefore, St Paul once said, “Brothers and sisters, let us always be glad and celebrate, because the day of redemption is at hand!”
Footnote: This homily was delivered by Father Hanly at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Hong Kong, year unknown, but the homily matches the readings for First Sunday of Advent, Year A.