
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor delivered this homily Dec. 1 for the first Sunday of Advent.
We call 911 when there’s an emergency. Some calls don’t get made in time because we underestimate the danger (e.g., chest pains) or because the danger was hidden until too late: no one knew of a terrorist conspiracy on the very day whose abbreviation is the same as our emergency number: 9-11. That morning people went to work like any other day; within two hours almost 4,000 were dead, taken while at work. You can be sure that if we had known when disaster would strike, airport security would have stayed alert. But the fact is that disasters occur when we least expect it.
In today’s Gospel Jesus says his Second Coming will also occur when we least expect it. Remember the flood in Noah’s day? People underestimated the danger until it was too late and the disaster carried them away. Jesus then describes people going to work on the farm or at the mill just like any other day and half of them being taken while at work — his return will be just that unexpected!
He says you can be sure that if we had known when disaster would strike — he uses the example of a burglar — we would have stayed alert. And likewise Jesus’ Second Coming will be a sudden disaster for those who are not prepared. But there are differences. While it will be a disaster for many, Jesus’ Second Coming will be a blessing for those who are prepared. And unlike most disasters, his return is more than a single event. There are, in fact, three Second Comings. His third Second Coming will be at the end of time, the day of universal judgment. But before that, for those of us who die before then, there will be an earlier second coming on the day of our own death and we will go to heaven, hell or — more likely, purgatory — right then. And yet before this final day, there is an even earlier first and ultimately more important second coming — namely Jesus’ return to us today disguised as needy people asking for help.
Our response to this most important second coming will determine how we will fare on the other two.
Last Sunday Pope Francis issued what I consider to be the finest papal document in recent years, his apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”). This document is his 911 call not only to the Church, but indeed to all of humanity.
Our world is in crisis, and many people underestimate the dangers we face as a Church and as a society. Our current economic system is unjust at its root, the family and marriage is experiencing a profound cultural crisis on many levels, and the Church itself is often insufficiently welcoming and too concerned about rules and procedures. But the most basic problem is that most people simply have not had a life-changing experience of God’s love and mercy — not even most of us who call ourselves Christians — because if we had, we would be spirit-filled “missionary disciples.” We wouldn’t be able to keep quiet about the change the Lord has worked in our life and would, as a consequence, do all in our power to bring about what Pope Francis calls “a revolution of tenderness” that reaches out with especially urgent care for the weakest members of society and of our world, and he mentions especially “the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly abandoned” and migrants, for whom he exhorts “a generous openness.”
The most vulnerable in our society have already been calling 911 for a long time. How can we fail to respond to their — often unspoken — cry for help and yet still consider ourselves faithful followers of Jesus Christ who gave his life for these very people?
Pope Francis makes many other extremely important points in this amazing document, especially about reforms needed in the Church, in the world economy, in society and in the hearts of believers, about which I will certainly have occasion to speak in the future. And I would like to encourage you to read this remarkable document yourself. Click here to view it on the Vatican website and download the document. There is also a link on the Diocese of Little Rock website, click here to view.
As for today’s message, let me close with this question: if we don’t serve Jesus now when he comes to us in poverty today, how do you think we’ll fare when he comes later in glory? Jesus says very clearly that our eternal destiny depends in part on whether we help the poor now. In today’s Gospel Jesus warns us to get with his program while there is still time. His Second Coming will be a blessing for those who are prepared, but sudden disaster for those who are not.
If your heart is not yet soft enough to reach out to help the poor in their need now, while you are still in this life, at least be wise enough to do so out of concern for yourself on the Day of Judgment.