When Advent comes, we are excited because the “Lord is coming.” And our prayer is “Come, Lord Jesus!” Our excitement inspires us to prepare our hearts and our lives for the coming of Jesus…whether in His “second coming” as the King of glory at the end of time or of our lives…or in His “third coming” as one like us in the person of our poor brothers and sisters, everyday of our lives. Perhaps we can do three things: reconciliation with God, reading the Bible, and reaching out to the poor.
Reconciliation with God
When we are expecting a visitor, we do house cleaning. How much more must we put our house, ie, our hearts and lives, if the one who is coming is the Lord Himself. He has given us the sacrament of reconciliation to cleanse us of our sins and give us the strength to triumph over the temptations hounding us each day.
Reading the Bible
When we are expecting a visitor, especially if he/she is one we have not met before, we want to know more about him/her. How much more should be we familiar with the guest if He is the Lord. We have the Holy Bible where we can read about who this coming one is. At least Chapters 1 and 2 of Matthew and Luke will be most helpful in this regard.
Reaching out to the Poor
In the Parable of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:3-46), the king says, “For I was hungry and you gave me food.” Hence, it is the Lord we are entertaining whenever we deal charitably with our hungry, naked, thirsty brothers and sisters. And there are many of them around us. Sharing our blessings with them is one sure way of making our Christmas joyful, because there is more joy in giving than in receiving.
“In his love He has filled us with joy
as we prepare to celebrate His birth,
so that when he comes, he may find us watching in prayer,
our hearts filled with wonder and praise.” (Advent Preface II)
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