The First Sunday of Advent Year B Readings, Lectionary #2 Begin in prayer Spend a few moments in prayer before reading the Scripture. Ask the Lord to let his Word speak to your heart. You, Lord, are our father. As clay in a potter's hands, mold us in the image of your Son so that all our words and all our deeds will be acceptable to you. Be with me now, Holy Spirit, as I prepare my homily for next weekend. Guide my words and my life to reflect the joy you bring. Amen. Liturgical Context Preaching about the end of time on the first Sunday of Advent has to be different from the last few weeks' homilies. The theme may be the same, but the liturgical context has completely changed: "The season of Advent... is a time to prepare for Christmas, when Christ's First Coming is remembered; it is a time when that remembrance directs the mind and heart to await Christ's Second Coming in the last days" (Ceremonial of Bishops). Though unspoken, Christmas is nevertheless at the heart of Advent, even on this first Sunday. Approach the Text Read the Scripture for this Sunday several times. Let its words and phrases truly affect you. Use the Lectio Divina method (available from PastoralPlanning.com as part of this homily kit) to allow the Word to fill your heart and excite you about the homily you are preparing. Begin by reading through all the readings for this weekend.
FIRST READING: Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b, 64:2-7 We are the clay and you the potter. The people are extremely downcast and depressed. Everything is in ruins. The people of Israel had returned from the Babylonian exile and found their homeland in ruins. They were extremely frustrated that efforts to rebuild their lives were going so slowly. The prophet reminds them in today s reading that they are powerless and their only hope is to put their trust in God alone. The people believed God was punishing them for their sins. They cried in desperation, Did God desert us? They had wandered away from the covenant God forged with them. Now they longed to return to the former days when they enjoyed an intimate friendship with God. They longed to once again allow God, like the Master Potter, to mold them into the people God wanted them to become. They understood God to be their redeemer. While we understand that role to be attributed to Jesus, their understanding of the word came out of their culture. A redeemer was a person who bought back a family member sold into slavery. People could also (1) redeem an animal given for sacrifice by buying back the animal for a price. The redeemer (2) married the widow thus insuring that the children they bore would continue the family line. A redeemer (3) paid the debts of family members who became destitute. The people of Israel believed God ransomed them from the exile. God simply took the first step in restoring the intimate relationship he once shared with the people he loved so much. For your reflection: How can this reading be a word for you today? From what in your life right now do you need to be redeemed? Do we need a redeemer like the Israelites needed a redeemer? If so, what evidence is there today that we need a redeemer as much as they did? SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul loves the people he formed as a strengthen and maintain community community. He thanks them for life. sharing their gifts in the community. Paul later challenges the way the gifts He thanks them for using the gifts of are used, but he does recognize how speech and knowledge that God gave important they are to building and them. strengthening the community. God gifted the community with He invites the community to be every gift they would need to diligent and avoid all temptation to Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 2
sin as they await the Lord s return. At one point they nearly forgot that the Lord would be returning. They became extremely obsessed and impressed with themselves over the charismatic gifts they used in their ministry to the community. For your reflection: Where is the good news in this reading? What gifts do you possess? Are you willing to use your gifts? What would stand in the way of you using your gifts to build God s kingdom? GOSPEL: Mark 13:33-37 "Be watchful! Be alert!" Today we hear the parable of the doorkeeper. The doorkeeper in the parable is Jesus. The warning has echoes of the last days, the end times, the afterlife. The term we use to describe such things is eschatology. The master puts the servant in charge of his property until he returns. The servant is then tested. The master delays his return. Jesus reminds them that the reign of God is not only a reality they are living in right now, but also a reality they await in the future. The master and servant relationship was often used to describe the way God was in relationship with the people of Israel. It is believed by some scholars that this parable was intended to prepare the people for future events. It reads like a farewell speech. It resembles all Biblical apocalyptic literature that speaks of the end of days. Mark s community was experiencing turmoil. Jerusalem had fallen and Mark believed that Satan now ruled Israel. False teachers were not teaching the message of Jesus. Jesus preached a message of suffering; the false teachers preached another message altogether. Mark s intention in telling this parable of Jesus is to remind the people to be ready for Jesus return, that was expected soon and not to be taken in by every false prophet pretending to preach the Good News. The evangelist s message to the community is vigilance do not be complacent--be ready for the Lord s return at all times. Hope in the Lord s return is what Christians of all generations need to strengthen them as they await his coming. For your reflection: Have you ever had an experience in which you were placed in charge of a situation? Perhaps you understood this as a test of your abilities, your faithfulness, and your trustworthiness. What did that experience evoke in you? How does your Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 3
experience speak to the experience in this parable? Have you ever had to wait for anything important? What did the waiting teach you? Why is waiting a good thing? How can you prepare your congregation to wait in earnest this year for Christ to come to their hearts? What do you think about our belief that Jesus will come again to take us all home to be with God? How do you think that will take place? Do you think we will see that day? How should we live as a result of what we believe? If Advent reminds us of the cross we are to bear, in what way do you presently carry the cross in your everyday life? What if an angel came down and told you that Jesus was coming back next week to gather everyone and take him or her home to be with God. The angel tells everyone to get ready. What would you do to get ready? In what way are you already ready? What are some things you would want to do, or perhaps you would like to change? This may provide an image or story for your homily. In what way, if any, area you living as though Jesus return was imminent? What could you do to more completely live as though Jesus return is imminent? Do you fear the judgment of the last day? Imagine standing before God. Considering your life to this point, what will God affirm in you? What might he suggest you could have done better? What steps might you take this Advent season to become more aware and participate in the life of Christ who lives within, the Christ who is to come anew at Christmas, and the Christ who is to come at the end of the world? Take an inward glance Think about how the call to holiness is embedded in this week s liturgy: * [Isaiah] "We are the clay and you the potter." How malleable have you been in the Potter's hands? Looking back over your life how, specifically, has the Lord been shaping and forming you? When have you been the most resistant to the Lord's designs for you? When has it been easiest to respond? * [Psalm] "We will no more withdraw from you." What usually causes you to "withdraw" from the Lord? When does he have to redouble his efforts to draw you close to himself? * [1 Corinthians] "Lacking in any spiritual gift." In an honest appraisal, what spiritual gifts are still lacking in you? If there were one "gift" you could ask for this Christmas, what would it be? * "Each with his own work." What elements of your ministry do you feel most suited to? Where do you feel most yourself--at the altar, in the ambo, in your office, or in parishioners' homes? What specifically can you do this Advent to improve in one of these places? * "Find you sleeping." What area of your life do you neglect most frequently: your physical needs, your emotional needs, your spiritual needs? How can you Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 4
"awaken" to these equally important areas? Do you need assistance in one of these areas--from a physician, a therapist, or a confessor? * "What I say to you, I say to all." How ably do you communicate your own engagement with the Word with those to whom you preach on Sunday? Has the Lord tried to speak to you through the Scriptures in a way that is meant for you alone, and not for the assembly? Take an outward glance Think about how the call to holiness is embedded in the daily experiences of the people to whom you will be speaking: * [Isaiah] "Why do you let us wander?" Do you suppose that some of your sisters and brothers feel "leaderless"--allowed to just wander through the liturgical year without much direction from their preacher? How could you remedy this? * [1 Corinthians] "Enriched in every way." When do your parishioners feel less than "enriched"? How can the liturgy assist the assembly in experiencing a more deeply felt, less transient, enrichment? * "He... places his servants in charge." The vestments have changed, and the liturgical space is, perhaps, more barren this Sunday: are your brothers and sisters ready to change, too? What is going to convince them to respond to the "servant" the Lord has placed "in charge"? * "What I say to you, I say to all." Does the assembly feel that the Lord speaks to them through their homilist? How does the rest of the Sunday liturgy assist your brothers and sisters in hearing the Lord's voice when their homilist speaks? Speaking of Scripture Preparing the 8-minute homily Advent is but four weeks long: not much time to prepare for Christ's coming! What should you and your brothers and sisters watch for during this new year? Try to preach a homily that lets Bethlehem be the prism through which you and your parish watch for the coming of the Lord. Give full rein to your "holiday" imagination this week. What image or story can you use to engage your people and fire their imagination? Perhaps it relates to your own having to wait at some point, or perhaps you want to encourage them to wait with Christ as they pray and open their hearts during this holy season. Timing Homily notes Memo 30 seconds Greet everyone and say one thing to connect with what is on the mind of the community news, weather, sports, parish events, visitors, a special group which is present, or other. Humor is good here. God Keep this very short. It takes any group of people a few seconds to get used to the sound of your voice in a room and this is a way to Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 5
is sending his love through you to your listeners. 1-2 minutes Tell a story or provide an image that will fire the imagination of your listeners. Do not launch into a treatment of the readings. This image or story must be one that is easy to understand by everyone, young and old. Avoid using standard jokes here. Instead, as you prepare the homily, what comes to mind as illustrative of the message in the readings? 3-4 minutes Connect that image now to the message in today s readings. Again, avoid providing commentary on the readings or exegesis which is disconnected from your image. You want people to remember what you say and take it home. What hope does the message today offer to your listeners? 1-2 minutes Return to the liturgy. Gesture toward the altar and say, Let s come back here now to this liturgy You re setting the stage for what will follow. Make a quick connection between the message today and the Eucharist. 30 second Thank your listeners and end on a very positive note. begin that will help your listeners hear you. Again, make sure this stays brief. The point of the homily is not you or your story but the Word of God and this image or story is a way to set the stage for that. Make two or three quick points here. Remember that the message must fit into the lives of the people in front of you. How will celebrating Eucharist and receiving communion change you and your listeners? How will it help them incorporate the message of today s readings into their daily lives? Sit down. Conclude in prayer To conclude your preparation, think about the community for whom you ve just prepared to preach or teach, and spend a few moments in prayer. Show us, Lord, your love; and grant us your salvation. Take care of the vine you have planted and give us new life as we call upon your name. I open myself to the wisdom you alone can give and I offer myself as the earthen vessel which will carry your Word to these people. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Preparing the Homily Mary Birmingham PastoralPlanning.com Page 6