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As you are reading this reflection of the First Sunday of Advent, it is the weekend of our gotong royong to get the church ready for Christmas. The parishioners of the Church of the Divine Mercy in Skudai, Johor will be planning on where to put the Christmas crib, wreath, lights, and so on. By that time, the shopping centres will already be putting up Christmas decorations and playing Christmas songs.
Many of us think of Advent as preparing for Christmas but Advent is about preparing for the second coming of Jesus at the end of time, too. Sometimes, the second coming is like a fantasy or something unreal. As Christians, we do not forget about the second coming of Jesus though it is beyond our imagination of how this can be.
We all need that reminder sometimes. It’s easy to get discouraged when things get hard, like when our work gets overwhelming, relationships are strained, or the world feels crazy and messy. But God doesn’t forget us. Just like with Judah, God’s promises are real. Christ has come, and Christ will come again. That is the Christian hope we hold even when things seem uncertain.
St Paul, in the second reading, makes this point even clearer. He writes, “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” Love is the heart of our preparation. It is not just about celebrating the festivities of Christmas and shopping or trying to make everything perfect for Christmas.
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