1st Sunday of Advent Year A

I remember the poem NO TIME. It says:
I knelt to pray but not for long
I had too much to do
I had to hurry and get to work
For bills would soon be due.
So I knelt and said a hurried prayer
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease.
All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They'd laugh at me I'd fear.
No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry.
No time to give to souls in need,
But at last.....the time to die.

I went before the Lord,
I came, I stood with downcast eyes,
For in His hands God held a book,
It was the book of life.

God looked into his book and said,
"Your name I cannot find,
I once was going to write it down...
But never found the time."
This is what the Gospel reminds us today; to give time for God. In the days of Noah, people did not give time to God. They missed the message God relayed to Noah regarding the flood.
Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew 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… Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
On this first Sunday of Advent, we are called to “stay awake.” In other words, “Do not sleep!” We have to give time for God. We have to spend times for prayers. Praying means staying awake. On one hand, it means we have to give God our time until we meet Him face to face. On the other hand, we have to give time for God in remembering and reliving the Lord’s First Coming –which we call Christmas day. We have to be conscious and aware of renewing our warm welcome to Jesus once again. We prepare our Christmas decorations, our Christmas gifts, our Christmas carols, etc. While doing this, we shall rejoice. However, our rejoicing is different from such rejoicing of the people during the days of Noah. They rejoiced too much that they forgot about God. They never gave time for God. But for us, we shall rejoice because we remember everything about God who sent His only Son, Jesus Christ. We rejoice because we have time to show to God we celebrate this season not for any other reason but for Jesus.

Feast of Christ the King (November 21, 2010)

A story:
Thomas More was a brilliant lawyer and diplomat in 16th century England. His patriotism and loyalty to the throne attracted the attention of King Henry VIII who made him Lord Chancellor of England. When Henry VIII decided to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, marry Anne Boleyn, and make himself head of the Church of England, More thought this was not right. Rather than approve what he believed to be against the divine will, he resigned from his prestigious and wealthy position as Lord Chancellor. Because he would not give his support to the king, More was arrested, convicted of treason, imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1534 and beheaded in July of the following year. On his way to public execution, More encouraged the people to remain steadfast in the faith. His last recorded words were: "I die the king's good servant, but God's first." Henry VIII then later did know was that loyal as More was to him, his first loyalty was to Christ, the king of kings.
A Gospel:
Luke 23:35-43 –Jesus was crucified and above Him there was an inscription: “This is the King of the Jews”. The inscription was placed to add insult to an injury. It was not meant to express faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, or the King of kings.
A Reflection:
Today, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Just like St. Thomas More, we believe that Jesus is indeed our King. But going back to the Gospel, what sort of a king do we find in Jesus? He was a helpless King! The soldiers jeered at Him calling out, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” He was not a celebrated kind of a king. His crown was thorn; not a golden crown. He was naked; no royal robe. He was forced to drink some vinegar; not a fine wine for a king. How come we call Him a King then?
Jesus is a King but not the way we usually describe a king is. We have to give up our preconceived ideas of a king so as to understand why Jesus is the King.
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36). It is Jesus Himself who claimed He is a King. Jesus who can neither deceive nor be deceived declared it. Being a King, He ruled with humility and refused to wear the golden crown, a symbol of pride and power. Being a King, He sacrificed Himself for His people and refused to wear a royal robe, a symbol of comfort. Being a King, He denied Himself of worldly pleasure as He did not drink wine of self-indulgence. Being a King, He opened His arms on the cross to welcome His people and did not sit down on a throne to scare His people. Being a King, His kingdom is not of this world, but in the hearts of men who believe in Him. Being our King, He commands us to love one another, to take up our cross and follow Him. If we choose Him as our King, then we should not entertain other kings. Viva! Cristo Rey!