1Adv15c: A world has to end

Readings

A new adventure begins. A new liturgical year. I like going through liturgical cycles because not matter what happens to me I am always faced with the truth that comes from the life of Jesus. Every year I see Jesus in a different way, and every year I try to follow Him in ways that are always new. What a great invention these liturgical cycles!

This year, Luke is the one who will guide my steps. As I read these words, I meditate on the world that that is to come. For a new world to come, an old one needs to end. I long for the Kingdom to be established, where the values of the King become the values of the citizens of the Kingdom.

My attention, however, is taken by the big "signs" that are given to us. The Sun, the Moon and the Stars get all my attention. No matter how important they are, they are falling. They have to go. I am reminded of the roles that these celestial bodies played in the mind and cultures of the people who first listened to the Gospel. They were divinities, they had values, and many were guided by them as they chose a path to trod. I can't help thinking about my life: what gives meaning? where do I get my own values? what guides my path? When I have to make a decision, what are the values I choose to follow?

I cannot welcome "the One who is to come" if I do not let my old world die. The more I remove the values of the world from my heart and from my vision, the more I will let the Son of Man to come in. Jesus does not share values with the world. I have to choose which one I am going to follow.

As I pray: "O come, o come, Emmanuel," I ask Jesus to be "God-with-us," then I cannot let Him share my loyalty with any other things.

I am ready to start this new adventure, this new liturgical year, with great joy! I know that my world is ready to end so that His may begin. And His … will last forever.