First Reading (Is 63:16b-17; 64,1.3-8): On behalf of his suffering and discouraged people, the prophet Isaiah proclaims his trust in God: The people deserve their lot, but there is no desperate situation when we can count on a saving God.
Second Reading (1 Cor 1:3-9): Paul sees the life of a Christian as that of someone already united with Christ and yet yearning for his glorious coming until the final return of the Lord.
Gospel (Mk 13:33-37): Christians should always be ready for the unexpected, since they can meet the Lord at any time: in people, in life events and even in death. Are we awake and ready to respond to His coming?
"Watch and be prepared ... It is not going to happen that our Lord suddenly arrives and finds us sleeping ...". This is the strong invitation that the Gospel of Mark makes us at the beginning of this season of Advent, the time of preparation for Christmas, to celebrate the incarnation of the Son of God.
The pandemic that has affected our world throughout this year has made us remember the fragility of life. We felt safe, we made plans, we could meet and go wherever we wanted, but suddenly this invisible virus arrived, affecting the health of millions of people and everything changed; to protect ourselves we have had to remain alert at all times, follow strict hygiene and distancing rules… we have had to live with the fear of being infected. And this experience has kept us alert. We cannon get careless and lower our guard.
This first Sunday of Advent reminds us of the definitive coming of our Lord, when at the end of our life he will personally come out to meet us. Will we be prepared? Let's hope so. And since we do not know the exact moment when this meeting will take place, it is necessary to live each day as if it were the last of our lives.
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