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SCRIPTURE READINGS:

ISAIAH 2:1-5

ROMANS 13:11-14

MATTHEW 24:36-44

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT REFLECTION

Advent comes from the Latin word, Adventus. It means arrival. Advent Season commences from the First Sunday of Advent to December 24 (Christmas Eve). Advent season is a period set aside by Christians for two important reasons. First, it is to commemorate or acknowledge the first coming of Jesus Christ through His incarnation. Secondly, to acknowledge the fact that Jesus will return and to remind Christians to remain prepared for the second coming of our Lord Jesus. Advent season precedes Christmas (the commemoration of the birth day of Jesus Christ). Advent is a seaon of hope, love, peace and joy. It is observed in the spirit of anticipation, prayer, Bible Study and fasting. It is for this reason, the theme for our first Sunday of Advent is “Prepare to meet the Lord” To prepare means to be in readiness. The title “Lord” means “one having power and authority over others. It also means a ruler by hereditary right or preeminence to whom service and obedience are due. Prepare to meet the Lord means to be in readiness to welcome the Jesus the only one who has powers and authority over us, Our Saviour and judge of the world. We shall reflect on the fact that we must be prepared to meet the Lord by always walking in His light.

Beloved in the Lord, to prepare to meet the Lord, we must always walk in His light. In Isaiah 2:1-5, after Prophet Isaiah had given the message of hope, restoration and peace to Israel, he further admonishes them, “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.” (Isaiah 2:5). Dear friend in Christ Jesus, walking in the light means constantly staying spiritually awake as a sign of our readiness to meet the Lord. It is for this reason, Jesus cautioned us to “…stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:42-44).

How do we walk in the light of the Lord or stay awake as a sign of preparing to meet the Lord? Paul gives us some important instructions to keep walking in the Light, awake or prepared even as we await the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are greatly instructed in his letter to the Romans when he wrote that “you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:11-14). My dear friend in the Lord, are you spiritually, morally and physically prepared to meet the Lord. The season of Advent offers us the opportunity to reflect on our relationship with Jesus. The Advent season further enables us to consciously prepare or take steps to walk in His light when we are called upon to meet Him. Let us remember that the second Advent of Jesus, our Lord will mean doom for those of us who are unprepared. Today is our day of salvation, Paul invites us to “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Act 16:31). Let us walk with Jesus daily by reading the Scripture and walking in His perfect example and image as our Lord and Saviour. Let the song ” I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back” keep playing in our minds even us we walk in His light.

In summary, we have reflected on the theme, “Prepare to meet the Lord”. We are in the season of Advent and we have learnt that we must be prepared to meet the Lord by always walking in His light. May the Holy Spirit empower us to remain prepared for the second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.