“Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” (Mark 13:33)

We have started a new liturgical year with Advent, a season of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. Advent comes from the Latin word “adventus,” and the Greek word “parousia,” commonly used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ.

The Advent season offers us the opportunity to share in (1) the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and (2) to be alert for Jesus Christ’s Second Coming. Therefore, the major theme for this First Sunday of Advent Year B is on our preparation for the Second Coming of Christ as judge while commemorating His First Coming as savior at Christmas.

The first clear references in the Western Church to Advent occur in the Gelasian Sacramentary, emphasizing the importance of penitence, preparation and expectation. The liturgical color for Advent is purple or violet, which symbolizes penance, humility and melancholy. We prepare the Advent Wreath or Advent Crown, composed of 3 purple and 1 rose candles and lighting one candle each Sunday to symbolize the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar.

Advent celebrates the coming into time and space and human flesh of Jesus Christ, not as a past event, but as a present experience and future joy to be fully realized. Jesus has come. He is coming, and He will come again.

Dynamic Christian disciples are those who (1) BELIEVE, (2) GROW, (3) SERVE, (4) LOVE and (5) LEAD others to Jesus. Today’s topic pertains to the element of BELIEVING in Christ Jesus’ Second Coming to prepare for it to fulfill God’s will and obtain our salvation.

How can we help each other prepare Christ Second Coming into our lives?

Wishing everyone a blessed week in the Lord.