November 28, 2021

First Sunday of Advent (Year C)

This is the third week in a row we have heard of the coming of the Son of Man, who is the divine, messianic figure from the book of Daniel specifically chosen by God to bring salvation to Israel, and all the world. As seen previously his coming is associated with a time of tribulation and the end of days. This week’s version from Luke seems to be the most threatening yet, so perhaps the First Reading might be considered a more appropriate passage for the first Sunday of Advent, a time typically associated with joyous expectation.

The various versions of the coming of the Son of Man hold certain phrases in common. Some examples include, “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Mk. 13:24; Mt 24:29–31). As well as “He will send out his angels to gather his elect” (Mt. 24:31). In the book of Revelation, it is Michael the Archangel specifically (Rev. 12:7). And of course, each version has a pronouncement to be watchful and ready, not to be caught off guard less the calamities catch people unprepared.

In Luke’s version today it reads, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth (Lk. 21:34-35). And added by Luke is what may be the greatest calamity of all, “People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens (heavenly bodies) will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Lk. 21:26-27).

Certainly, these are appropriate images for the end of times and the expectation of Christ’s second return. But they are not what we are accustomed to hearing during Advent as we typically dwell on what the first coming of Jesus was like – the Annunciation, the Visitation, and the Nativity. Not to mention the gathering of poor shepherds and the magi at the crèche.

This is where the First Reading from Jeremiah (Jer. 33:14-16) seems more appropriate because it depicts the promise of the initial coming of the Lord and Messiah. The ministry of Jeremiah had taken place during the latter years of Jerusalem at the time of the Babylonian exile. Jeremiah was sent by God to convince the people to admit their guilt and repent of their sins of injustice, murder, adultery, perjury, and abuse in worship. But little heed was paid to Jeremiah’s warning and Judah was sent into exile, while Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed.

During the exile, Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem and continued to preach. But his message ultimately turned to one of hope. This is the type of passage we hear today, where God promises that the days are coming when He will fulfill a promise made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. A just shoot shall spring up from David and do what is right in the land so that Judah and Jerusalem will be safe.

But what exactly is this promise that God delivers through Jeremiah? It extends way back into the history of Judah when David was king of the nation. Upon the death of Saul, the first king of Israel, David was first anointed king of Judah (2Sam. 2:4) and, some years later, king of the entire nation of Israel (2Sam. 5:3). With remarkable military prowess, David and his army captured the city of Jerusalem (2Sam. 5:7), and with great fanfare, brought the Ark of the Covenant from its resting place in Kiriath-Jearim to the city of Jerusalem (2Sam. 6:1-23).

David then decided to remove God’s dwelling and the Ark from its temporary tent into a permanent home. But God instructed David, through the prophet Nathan, that it was God who would instead build a house for David. God promised to establish a royal dynasty in David’s name, which would be permanent – “your throne shall be established forever” (2Sam 7:16). This is the promise we hear being fulfilled in the reading from Jeremiah today – the appearance of the long-awaited descendant of David, a “righteous branch” to salvage the nation (Jer. 23:1-8).

This “righteous branch” of David is also known by the synonym “a just shoot” who shall do what is right and just in the land. After all that Judah and Jerusalem had been through, the idea of “a just shoot” takes on special meaning. It arises from the book of Isaiah which declares that “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, (David’s father) and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (Isa. 11:1).

Considering that the restoration of Jerusalem would come after the destruction by the Babylonians the image of the shoot comes from that of a tree that has been so thoroughly devastated that only the stump remains. This would have been the condition of much of Jerusalem after the invasion. And it would seem impossible that anything could bud from this burned-out stump of David’s lineage.

But, of course, it is well known that anything is possible with God. And this would include a messiah coming from a near extinct ancestry. With God’s grace, David’s ancestry did in fact survive into a long line which we can read about in the genealogy of Matthew 1. And part of this ancestry includes humble people, Joseph, the lowly carpenter, and Mary the fair young maiden. Both were chosen by God with their union sanctioned by the Holy Spirit, so that the overshadowing of the Blessed Mother by the angel Gabrielle would produce Jesus who is in fact the miraculous bud that sprouts from the stump of Jesse and David and the long-awaited savior promised in the book of Jeremiah.

So, for the time being, although we await the second coming of Christ, this advent we can begin by celebrating the salvation that has already been brought to us, not from pomp and splendor, but from the humble beginnings of a holy family and messiah from Nazareth where a righteous branch sprouted from the bloomless stump of a miraculous dynasty preserved by God for just this purpose.