Seeing His Face
Dec. 3: First Sunday of Advent
Advent is an interesting time in the lectionary, given the way the Church juxtaposes Old Testament and New Testament readings. During this season, first reading is almost always about awaiting the Messiah; the second read is about how the Messiah already came; and then the Gospel shows Jesus telling us to be ready for him to come again.
Reading 1
IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7
You, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever. Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old. No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him. Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways! Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful; all of us have become like unclean people, all our good deeds are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our guilt carries us away like the wind. There is none who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to cling to you; for you have hidden your face from us and have delivered us up to our guilt. Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.
“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.” Oh, Isaiah, if you only knew.
It goes to show that no one was expecting someone like Jesus. The ancient Israelites were looking for a very different kind of king, who would come in majesty and glory, not in a manger.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
We often ask for a sign from God. We need to know that He’s there, that He loves us.
Jesus, the Son of Man, is that sign. He’s God made visible. His family, friends, and followers could see His face, and were saved. We can, too.
Reading II
1 COR 1:3-9
Brothers and sisters: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
We should pray not only for our own faith, but for the faith of others. Our religion is a communal one; we celebrate together. That’s why Paul thanks God that the Corinthian Church accepted the Gospel and were enriched by it.
That fellowship is what maintains us when we’re not sure if we can see His face during troublesome times.
Alleluia
PS 85:8
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Show us Lord, your love;
and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
It’s hard not to ask God for proof. We’ve read the stories in the Bible, learned about the lives of the saints, and we want to experience those things personally.
Gospel
MK 13:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”
The line before today’s Gospel,1 Jesus says, “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Isaiah was waiting for the coming of the Messiah, but we’re waiting for the Second Coming. Like Isaiah, we have no idea when or how it will happen.
That’s what the time of Advent is for—to remind us to look for Christ.
I don’t understand why it’s not included; it contextualizes the rest of the passage very well.