First Sunday of Advent; St. Bibiana

Sunday, 02 December 2007
THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT


Commentary of the day
Pierre de Blois : The three comings of Christ

Reading

Is 2,1-5.
This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come, The mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: "Come, let us climb the LORD'S mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!


Ps 122(121),1-2.3-4.4-5.6-7.8-9.
A song of ascents. Of David. I rejoiced when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."
And now our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem. Jerusalem, built as a city, walled round about.
Here the tribes have come, the tribes of the LORD, As it was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
Here the tribes have come, the tribes of the LORD, As it was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
Here are the thrones of justice, the thrones of the house of David.
For the peace of Jerusalem pray: "May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your ramparts, prosperity within your towers."
For family and friends I say, "May peace be yours."
For the house of the LORD, our God, I pray, "May blessings be yours."


Rm 13,11-14.
And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness (and) put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.


Mt 24,37-44.
For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. 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. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.


Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB



Commentary of the day

Pierre de Blois (c.1130-1211), Archdeacon in England


The three comings of Christ

There are three comings of Christ: the first, in the flesh; the second, in the soul; the third, at the judgement. The first took place at midnight, according to those words of the Gospel: “At midnight there was a cry: ‘Behold, the bridegroom!’” (Mt 25,6). This first coming has already happened because Christ “has appeared on earth and moved among men,” (Bar 3,38). At the present time we exist in the second coming, provided we ourselves are such as he is able thus to come to. For he has said that, if we love him, he will come to us and make his dwelling with us (Jn 14,23). This second form of coming is thus something mingled with uncertainty where we are concerned. For who but the Spirit of God knows who they are who belong to God (1Cor 2,11)? Those know well his coming whose longing for heavenly things enraptures them out of themselves, yet they “do not know where he comes from or where he goes,” (Jn 3,8). As for the third coming: it is very certain that it will come to pass, very uncertain when it will come to pass, since nothing is more certain than death, nothing more uncertain than the day of our death. “When people are saying, ‘Peace and security,’ then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labour pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape,” (1Thes 5,3). And so, the first coming was hidden and in lowliness; the second is mysterious and full of love; the third will be swift and terrible. In his first coming, Christ was judged unjustly by men; in the second, he shows us justice by his grace; in the last, he will judge all things with equity. He is Lamb in his first coming, Lion at the last, a Friend full of gentleness in the second.