First Sunday of Advent
The other night when I got home, the cold air penetrated my bones and I had a great idea to make hot chocolate, on the stove. I got milk, a package of chocolate mix and poured it together in a pot. Then I started to talk with Mai Dung and Judy. Once in a while I
’ll stir the pot, but waited for it to boil as I did other tasks. For all of those cooks, I’m pretty sure you know what happens next. It burnt and I didn’t even know it. I was distracted and disconnected to what I was doing that I burnt the milk.I thought I could still drink it, IF I got rid of the burnt part, was I ever wrong!!!!!!!!
The burnt taste permeated throughout the milk and I had to dump it out and start over again.
Luckily,
……..when we are disconnected with God at any point in our life, God does not consider us ruined, but yearns for us to start over again, anytime, anywhere.This advent season is a good time to refocus and reconnect with the God, who longs and waits for us.
At this particular time when we are getting ready for Christmas, it is easy to get caught up with the hustle and bustle of shopping, decorating, longing for family reunions, or trying to finish last minute task before the holidays. Like on this past Black Friday, people were waiting in line at 4:00 am to buy the latest gadgets, like the iPod that plays 30 hours of music or 720 high definition camcorder for loved ones
. The tradition of this day is to push the person in front of you to go faster, to grab what you want or don’t want, just because it’s on sale. Often this frantic mob will take you where you don’t want to go and the question is ……………"will you have the strength to go against the main stream?"……………Matthew encourages us to stay vigilant enough to steer our way out of the path of distractions, violence, and busyness. If not,
…… we will just simply go with the flow and be over come by the unpredictable flood.The gospel today urges us to stay awake because we do not know the time and hour when God will come. We do not want to be like the 2 men working in the field and the 2 women grinding the mill. They were so caught up in the ordinary, daily pursuits that they were careless with their relationship with God. This is what slowly separates us from God and one another.
As Dominicans we are called to be counter cultural. How do you do this in the mist of chaos? It is to be SILENT. To let God empty us and fill that space with the peace and hope of the coming messiah. For this Advent season, what is the hope that you are longing for?
………… Do you dare to empty yourself totally and start anew? --- Mary Vuong, OPClick here to return to Holy Preaching
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