The Coming of the
Holy and True One
Is 11:1-10; Rom
15:4-9; Mt 3:1-12
“When the great King comes, the
hearts of men will be made pure.”
In her concern for our salvation, our loving mother,
the Church, uses the season of Advent to teach us to be grateful for the great
blessing and be prepared for the second coming of Christ.
The prophet Malachi speaks of God’s “two comings”. The first coming speaks
of the “Lord whom we (you) seek will come suddenly to his temple” (Mal 3:1);
and “another coming” warns us, “Look, the Lord almighty will come, and will
endure the day of his entry… who will stand in his sight? (Mal 3:2). He comes
like a refiner’s fire, a fuller’s herb cleansing every stain. St Paul also
speaks of these two comings to Titus. He says that the grace of God the Savior
has appeared to all men, instructing all to put aside impiety and worldly
desires and live temperately, uprightly, and religiously in this present age; (and)
waiting for the joyful hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ (Tit 2:11-14).
These “two comings” speak of two aspects related to
our Savior. At the “first coming”, he who was with God before the ages, wrapped
in swaddling clothes in a manger from a virgin at the fullness of time. On his
second arrival, he will be clothed in light like a garment. In the first coming,
he endured the cross, despising the shame; in the “second coming”, he will be
in glory, escorted by an army of angels. At the first coming, the angels sang,
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. At the “second coming”, he
will not come to be judged, but to judge us.
Jesus says, “About that hour no one knows, neither the
angels nor the Son” (Mt 24:36). It is not for us to know times or moments. He
has kept those things hidden so that we may keep watch. If he had revealed the
time of his coming, his coming would have lost its savor. Keep watch. When the
body is asleep, nature takes control of us. When deep listlessness takes
possession of the soul, for example, faint-heartedness or melancholy, the enemy
overpowers it and makes it do what it does not will. The force of nature, the
enemy of the soul, is in control. When the Lord commands us to be vigilant, he
means vigilance in both the body against the tendency to sleep; in the soul,
against lethargy and timidity. St Ephraim, quoting Ps 138, says, “Wake up, you
just, and I have risen, and am still with you; and again, “Do not lose heart”
(Rev 1:8).
“…behold, your king is coming to
you. Sion, do not be afraid: your salvation is at hand”.
