Homily - First Sunday of Advent

Msgr. Joseph K. Ntuwa • December 3, 2024

Homily - First Sunday of Advent - December 1, 2024

First Sunday of Advent Year C

Jer 33:14–16 1 Thes 3:12–4:2 • Lk 21:25–28, 34–36

I promise!

Dear friends, these are two little words we’ve used a million times before. I promise I’ll call you to get together for lunch. I promise I’ll do my homework. I promise to get those reports in by Friday. I promise I will cut down on sweets and carbs. I promise I ‘ll do my exercises. I promise I’ll love you forever. Promises, promises, promises!

And we like it when people keep their promises. We expect them to. Yet, we know that’s often not the case. Each of us is well aware of and regretful for the times we have failed to keep our promises, the times we haven’t followed through, the times we have neglected to do what we said we would do, and the times we have betrayed the confidences of others. Yes, promises are quite easy to make, but not always easy to keep.

“The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah.”

We’ve just heard this from today’s first reading. It’s incredible to think that God --- who owes us absolutely nothing would even make promises. God is sovereign. However, our God wants us to know him, to hope and trust in him, to find safety, security and peace in him. Our loving God wants us to understand that we can count on him, not just occasionally, but always.

This weekend, we begin the holy season of Advent. Once again, we await the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise to us --- his complete immersion in our world in the person of Jesus, God who comes to be with us, walk with us, and ultimately save us. This was not God’s first promise. God has made promises through the ages --- from Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to the prophets --- assuring them of things that he would bring to fulfillment. And it was all leading to the fulfillment of God’s plan in the gift of his Son, all leading to what we are preparing to celebrate in a few weeks’ time. But God’s promises and plans do not end there -- we also look to the day when Jesus will return to bring to completion what God has prepared for us and all of creation.

You’ll agree with me that we sometimes get God’s promises a little mixed-up. And so, we start believing that God has promised to take all our problems away or that bad things won’t happen to us; we start to believe that God will allow our life to unfold exactly how we want it to unfold and align his “plans” with our “plans”. Dear friends, that’s not what God promises us. We just have to look at the cross to see that true faithfulness does not assure us that life will be easy, or that it will be just what we want.

Today's readings urge us to broaden our concept of God and God's involvement in history. The Scriptures give witness that we sometimes have to pass through periods of doubt to refine our sense of God.

As we journey these four weeks together, let’s reflect more on God’s promises, and rejoice in his greatest promise --- the person of Jesus whom we await. We do not have to wonder whether we can count on God, whether or not we can trust him to keep his promises. But can God count on us?

At the beginning of the new Church year, it’s worthwhile to take a basic Catholic checkup.

When was the last time you made a good confession?

· Regular confession has always been encouraged by the saints and the great teachers of our faith. It helps us to examine our lives! This coming Wednesday at 7pm, we’ll have 7 priests for our Advent Communal reconciliation service. If you miss out because of other commitments, there are other opportunities here and in our deanery Parishes for this season.

How do you begin and end each day?

· Do you start out the day by giving it to God or to your smartphone?

· Do you start the day by giving thanks or by sighing about all that must be done?

· Do you end your day by asking God’s forgiveness for all failings and resolving to do better?

What about love of neighbor?

· Do you look for opportunities to serve?

· Do you strive to forgive, difficult though it may be – seeking God’s help to do so?

Do you faithfully support your Church, not only financially but also through getting involved?

Have a blessed Advent everyone.

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Homilies

Homily July 27, 2025

July 29, 2025

17 th Sunday of the Year C Gen 18:20-32; Col 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13 Have you ever had conversations with people who have expressed a distaste for many of the beliefs and practices of organized religion ? Sometimes these criticisms come from people who have had “bad” religious experiences in their own families or have seen what they feel is an ugly side of faith. I understand that. Some others have been hurt and disappointed by the common failings and faults of some of the faithful in the pews. Many others have been particularly crushed by the serious sins of Church leadership. Yet, there are others who simply are trying to be intellectually honest --- people who have truly wrestled with some of the big questions of life and faith and have been relatively unsatisfied with the “answers” religion provides. They “want” to believe at some level but just find too many obstacles. And sometimes that “obstacle” is the image of God presented to them. One particular element of Christianity that I hear criticized so often is the way we seem to ask God for things over and over again. Many people assert that they just, don’t understand why it needs to be this way! They argue: God knows everything. God knows exactly what we need (and want). So why do we need to ask? God has infinite power . There are no limits to what he can do. We don’t have to try to get his “attention” because he is “busy” elsewhere. So why do we need to ask? God is immutable --- which means, unchanging and unchangeable . That means we kind of diminish God if we think we can somehow “ change” his mind. So why bother to pray if God has already written the script? Well, today, in both our First Reading and Gospel passage, we hear examples illustrating the power of pleading with God. In the story from Genesis, we see Abraham “bartering” with God --- seeing if he can somehow get the best “deal” possible. Apparently, Abraham is wise enough to not ask for everything all at once, as if he’s using his charm to coax God’s mercy out of him. God goes along with each of his requests. And in the Gospel passage from Luke --- Jesus tells a story about a man banging on his friend’s door at midnight trying to get some bread for an unexpected guest. The friend initially refuses, but then gets worn down from the persistence of the man and gives in. After relating that story, Jesus utters these “famous” words, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” So, what gives? Do we have to “beg” God to get his blessings or does God actually withhold good things from us until we “wear him down”? Do we have to be expert negotiators, or charmers? Dear friends, an authentic spiritual life is about none of those things. It’s about a relationship supported, strengthened and transformed in part by a holy conversation --- what we call the divine conversation. This is a conversation that has no beginning and no ending, but rather is one that has been continual from the very dawn of time --- a sacred conversation which enables channels of grace to remain open within every single person --- a kind of listening and speaking that helps each of us remain open to an outpouring of God’s life which has the power to change absolutely everything. And so, we bring our needs to our God because we believe he loves us more than we can imagine, because we trust in his wisdom and power, because we need to put into words the deepest longings of our hearts. And maybe most importantly --- we ask, seek, and knock simply because it opens us up to every good thing God wants for us (and from us). Prayer encourages dependence on God and today’s parable shows us perseverance. We do not “keep knocking” because God isn’t aware of our needs but, rather, because we need to remain constantly aware of our daily need for him – our daily bread. Whenever we turn to God in prayer, we put our minds and hearts in contact with the very source of life and truth. And that refreshes the human soul, just as rebooting your computer refreshes the software that makes the computer run. When stress, discouragement, and frustration start to clog our circuits, we don't need to jack up the voltage by working more hours or by distracting ourselves with even more exciting entertainment; no, we need to reboot, we need to pray with perseverance. When you pray say” “Behold, I am your servant, do with and in and through me according to your will” In happy moments, seek God, in hard moments praise God, in quiet moments, trust God, in every moment, thank God. Lord Jesus, teach us to pray.

Homily - First Sunday of Advent