Jer.33: 14-16; Ps.25:4-5, 8-10, 14; 1 Thes. 3:12—4:2; Lk. 21:25-28, 34-36

The Lord is coming, the Lord has come, and will come again.  Today begins the new liturgical year in anticipation of the coming of the Lord just as we have completed the celebration of the Lord King of the Universe.  The Lord’s kingdom is before us but are we before the Lord ready for his coming “blameless in holiness before our God and Father”?  Advent brings on a somber reality that we are to live with the end in mind.  Living with the end in mind will not find us unprepared or distracted by all that the world brings on. 

Since the Lord fulfilled his promise to the house of Israel and Judah with the coming of Jesus we have been living in the end times.  All that was prophesized with signs “in the sun, the moon and the stars” as well as the earth has been happening in each generation from natural disasters to world wars but it is not the final coming yet.  The blessed Mother Mary has appeared multiple times and around the world calling us to repentance while there is still time but most of the world has ignored her signs.  The world continues to live for itself unprepared for the “tribulations that are imminent”. 

We hear it said “We are in the world but not of the world.”  This means that we have been set apart by our faith and even if death should come it is only a death to this mortal body but our soul is eternal and we will be given a new body.  We are not to fear an end to this world but be prepared “to stand erect…because your redemption is at hand”.  We are to pray for strength to endure the final test with faith not fear.  This can only be our reality if we live our lives with the end in mind. 

Often when we experience a major event in life, marriage, the birth of a child, a new job, a tragedy or even death of a loved one, we come to recognize what is most important in life, what is our priority, and even ask ourselves “who do we serve?”  Every day we are tempted to make life all about ourselves, my wants, my choice, my pleasures, and my will be done.  In the end life becomes out of balance and we lose sight of the end to come.  As one man said to me as we stood at a funeral, he had made no arrangements for death because he felt he would live forever.  The funeral was a hard reminder mortal death is imminent and he didn’t want to think about it.  This is not living with the end in mind but living an illusion about to become a shock. 

To live with the end in mind is to always be aware of “who do we serve”.  Jesus came to serve and not to be served.  This advent is our opportunity to “reset” our priorities and keep Jesus at the center of our life.  Thanksgiving was a good reminder of what are we doing for the others in life and in our world.  We are given life in order to give life to others by our love, our charity, and our sacrifice.  Christ in Christmas is all about our giving of what matters.  A material gift is a good sign of our love but giving of ourselves, our time and our love is the gift that lasts more than an object. 

Living our life with end in mind is doing that which lasts till the end.  For example, what new memories are we creating that we will be sharing years from now?  What service have we done that will stand the test of time as a blessing to others?  What act of love is God receiving from us in our prayer, our worship, and our even our confession that is freeing us from all sin and building the kingdom of God for others to follow. 

Let this be our testimony this Advent that what other see in us they will seek to follow in imitation of Christ.