03 December 2006

THE ANTIDOTE FOR FEAR

1st Sunday of Advent
Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

In life, we always wait. In life, we all wait. We wait for the wedding of a couple, the birth of a baby, the first steps of a child, the call of a loved one, the return of a traveler, the visit of a relative, the letter of a friend, the healing of a wound, the recovery of the sick, the harvest of our labors, etc.

In life, we wait almost anywhere. We wait for a ride in a bus station, for a flight in an airport, for the bill in a restaurant, for exams in school, for a Mass in a church, etc.

We also wait for almost anyone, do we not? We wait for a child, for an elderly, for a parent, for a friend, for a brother or a sister, for a V.I.P., for a professor, for a priest, etc.

Our waiting may last from a sigh to a whole day, from nine months to a decade, from a century to a millennium. But what ever it takes and no matter how long, we wait because we value what and whom we wait for. We do not wait for occasions that we consider insignificant, for things we judge as trivial, or for people we care less.

The Lord is coming. The Gospels are very clear on this. We love the Lord very much, do we not? His coming must be very important for us. We should wait for His coming.

We wait for the coming of the Lord by preparing our selves and doing everything to make us less unworthy of His return. As He comes at the end of the world, we must prepare our selves not because we fear Him but because we love Him. The lover always rejoices at the return of the beloved. Our love for the Lord keeps us awake as He may come at the hour we least expect. Our love for the Lord will give us the confidence to stand erect before Him when He comes. For as St. John of the Cross tells us, “At the evening of life, we shall be judged on love.”

Love cast away all fears. If we fear the end of the world, can it be that we love the world more than we love the Lord?

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