After Thanksgiving - Homily Reflection 1st Sunday of Advent

After Thanksgiving - Readings 1^st Sunday Advent

Advent’s here, the time we await and prepare for the coming of the Lord. 

I thought about the readings as I celebrated thanksgiving with my family. Thanksgiving with my family is a buffet of food and people; a table set with many lives and experiences. 

Many are Catholics; some are fallen away. Several attend non-denominational church. We have Baptist and Evangelicals. Some are lost. Some are searching. Many think they’ve got the answer.

It’s a buffet of family with friends thrown in for a little spice. With family, there is always a surprise. Those surprises can be things Paul warned about - drunkenness, promiscuity, and especially rivalry and jealousy. That’s why families are so much fun.

What if the son of man came on Thanksgiving Day? 

Many would be surprised like in the days of Noah. Noah heard the word of God. He tried to share it with the rest of the world. They made fun of him. They ignored the word of God by continuing their ways. But Noah was faithful to God and heeded his command.  

By the flood, God’s word was fulfilled. Noah, the man who followed God’s word, and his family were saved.

Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Some will hear the word of God, many will ignore it. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.”

Jesus' ministry proclaimed the kingdom of God is at hand. He told the kingdom of God is in all of us. But not “all of us” have found it. 

People live in excess. People are greedy. Unhappiness is plentiful and the world is full of bigotry, hatred, and prejudice. People are bitter and ignore those in need around them, unhappy in a life of plenty.

In all these unhappy people, how many give thanks? How many know the kingdom of God?

We don’t have a priest in my family. My aunts ask for prayer and blessings. We call family members to pray and bless them over the phone. It was “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord;“ as we celebrated one who returned to the Church. We talked prayer, bible, attending mass, and hearing the word of God.

Some will hear the word of God, some will ignore it. One of the men said, “You can’t tell me what the Bible says, it’s what the Bible says to me!” He got up and left. So many think they’ve got the answer. 

The word of God does speak to individual hearts, but it is a message for all of us. The word of God did not come to fulfill a private interpretation; He came for all. It is "all of us" who fulfill Christ. For that, go to the House of God so he may instruct us in his ways and we can walk in his paths.

Paths will lead us to the hungry and homeless. Following the Lord’s path leads us to people without safe drinking water and people without peace.  

It is “all of us” who fulfill Christ. Success and wealth are not our own. Fame is not our own. Love is not our own. Our gifts are not for us alone, but given by God to benefit “all of us.”

The Word of God isn’t for personal justification. It’s for “all of us.” It prepares us for HIs coming. Just like the word given to Noah. Just like the Word, Jesus Christ was given to all of us. Just like the Kingdom of God is “all of us.” In these things, “Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed….”

I looked at my family and see people who listen for the word of God. I look around at my family here in the Church and I see believers who share the word and their faith with family, children, and grandchildren. We are a people who proclaim the kingdom of God to neighbors and strangers. They live to fulfill Christ, the word of God in their everyday life.

Thanksgiving is a buffet of family members, friends added a little spice, and there is always that surprise.

The best surprise is to share all God has given us. Share the Word. Proclaim the kingdom of God; it’s “all of us” who fulfill Christ. This is how we prepare for the coming of the Lord. This is Advent. You must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Y’all be good, y’all be holy; preach the gospel by the way you live and love. Amen.