FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
What parent has not spent the night in and out of bed with a sick child…mostly out of bed? And in the morning, rising exhausted yet continues on caring for that child until he or she is well again? Some might say the motivation is duty and responsibility; but we all know it goes much deeper than that. A parent’s love for that child provides the strength and stamina to make sure the child regains its health. There is nothing like the love of a parent for a child.

And that’s the kind of love we encounter when we read the scriptures from the very beginning and we see the relationship God establishes with his people. He is called Father. God sets up a covenant relationship and promises to send a savior. Over and over again we see God’s love extended to His people in mercy, in guidance, in pursuit and in calling them back to Himself.

Today’s first reading from Isaiah the Prophet is a prime example. The Israelites have just been released from the Babylonian captivity; they have abandoned God because they thought they were forsaken. Isaiah turns to God and acknowledged that He is their Father and He puts Israel into the hands of their maker: we are the clay and you are the potter.

For centuries the Israelite people awaited the fulfillment of God’s promise of a savior. And that relationship persists until Jesus arrives.

What better way for us to begin the Advent Season than to recall the relationship which God the Father has initiated with each of us – the same kind of a relationship which loving parents have for their children. It is in and through that relationship which God showers us with His love and send us the gift of a savior. That Savior who came among us in time and will come again; but a savior who chooses to visit us - His people at any given moment.

Jesus encourages His apostles in today’s Gospel to be watchful and alert because we know not when the Son of God will come into our lives.

During these weeks of Advent, may we all take time to remember God’s relationship with each of us and our relationship in turn with Him. May we be alert and watchful for the signs of His coming to us – His mercy, His guidance, His pursuit, and His calling us back to Himself. And may that coming bring brightness to the dark days of life.