Advent:  Second Readings
Offer "Great Stuff"

I have long feared that the second reading is the most ignored part of the Mass. It's not like people forget it from one Sunday to the next. We can't remember it once Mass is over. In fact, most of us probably don't remember it when the reading is over!

Why is the second reading so eminently forgettable? Few homilists comment on it regularly. The text is usually abstract. The other readings frequently contain stories and hence more color. We might even be giving our minds a rest before perking up for the Gospel and the homily. For whatever reason, I fear we often zone out.

It's a shame, because we usually have some great stuff parked in that spot. For example, let me give you a tour of the second readings you'll hear during Advent this year. You can look them up if you like and follow along: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2, Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11, Philippians 4:4-7; and Heb 10:5-10.

At first glance, they don't seem to follow any pattern. They're all from the New Testament. They're all from letters (or epistles), but that's true almost year round. As you might guess, they're chosen because they meditate upon some Advent theme.

This year, that theme is the same for the first two weeks: the coming day of the Lord.

During week one we hear from Paul's first letter to the church at Thessalonika in Greece. Scripture scholars tell us this is probably the oldest book in the whole New Testament, written even before the Gospels, perhaps twenty years after Jesus died! The mood at the time was ecstatic! The news of the resurrection was still fresh on everyone's mind, and Christians expected that Christ would be returning soon. Consequently, they lived each day wondering if it would be the last.

This passage includes a little prayer to Christ on behalf of the community. Paul says, "May Christ so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." That's the key sentence, the reason why we hear this passage during Advent. In it we discover that the coming of the Lord occupies Paul's mind, as he prays that God will hold the community blameless.

The second Sunday of Advent brings us Paul's letter to the church at Philippi. That community seems to be Paul's favorite. You'll sense his affection in the tender way he begins this passage. But the key expression occurs a little later--twice in fact in this passage: "The one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ." And, "This is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more. . . so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless."

The same belief show up. Paul expects the day of the Lord soon. So when he prays for the community, he mentions this coming of Christ as if he were talking about the relatives due in for Christmas.

Actually, the passage for the third Sunday carries the same theme, but with a special twist. Paul colors the news with an exhortation we can't hear often enough: "Rejoice!" He says it twice! The reason? "The Lord is near." For all you old people, you may recall that we used to call the third Sunday of Advent by a special title. Remember this? Gaudete! It's the Latin word for "rejoice!" This passage from Philippians also served as the text for the entrance antiphon of the old liturgy. So the first word you heard on this day was "Gaudete!", which gave the Sunday its name.

Please, please notice where these three readings are pointing. They're helping us anticipate the second coming of Christ. Often in our Christmas preparations, we focus a lot on that first coming of Christ in Bethlehem. The second readings of Advent leave it behind in the dust. They point us forward. In fact, they deal more with Easter than with Christmas. They announce, since Christ is risen from the dead, we should live not just in the romantic celebration of his past coming, but in the exciting anticipation of his next coming.

Only the fourth Sunday of Advent hints at the first coming of Christ, which draws our commercial attention at Christmas. In the letter to the Hebrews, written anonymously, the author imagines Christ singing one of the psalms. The main sentence here is, "I have come to do your will." That statement, from the Old Testament, when put on the lips of Christ, becomes a marvelous Christmas message. Christ came at Bethlehem in order to do the Father's will--namely, to win our salvation!

As you listen to the scriptures this holy season, let your heart be warmed by the good news that Christ is near! Then live a blameless life in anticipation of his coming!