The Second Sunday in Advent AD 2024
The first Christians lived in expectation of the Lord’s imminent return. The same expectation and hope have accompanied Christians throughout the centuries, rising to the fore especially when humanity has been beset by different trials, whether in the form of natural disasters, disease, or war. There have always been those who proclaim the imminent end of the world, and there have always been scoffers who ask: “Where is your Lord then?” Sometimes the delay of the “end of the world” is used as an argument against the Christian faith. The answer to such accusations is simple: God, who is long-suffering and merciful, wants to give as many people as possible the opportunity to repent, be saved, and inherit eternal life.
Nevertheless, the prophecies of the Lord’s return and the Last Judgment are an important part of the Christian message. On the one hand as a warning and admonition, on the other hand as a confirmation and encouragement. Jesus clearly says that He will return – with power and great glory – and His return will not go unnoticed by anyone. This is the primary purpose of all signs and trials: to awaken us to the fact that the time has come.
This is also the reason why such signs and trials have accompanied humanity throughout the ages: so that people of all ages are aware that there will be a day on which they have to stand before God and give an account of their lives to Him. Every generation, including the present one, must live sober and godly lives, remembering the price God has paid for their redemption. For we have been redeemed not “with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”.
As long as we live in this world, we have not yet experienced the fullness of redemption, for we “groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body”. When the Son of Man returns, He will complete our redemption, which is why He encourages His disciples: no matter what happens around you, whether the seas roar, the earth trembles, or the powers of heaven are shaken, “look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh”.
We do not know when our Lord will come, but we know that He will come. So, let us pray, let us implore His grace and mercy, that we may be counted worthy to receive Him with joy and hope!