By Father John Neff

St. Luke Catholic Church

Have you ever seen the TV commercials for Brink's Home alarm system or those by ADT? These ads remind us to "be watchful", "Be alert", "lock the doors", "activate the alarms"! I guess it is the sign of the times of the society in which we live although I know people who leave their doors open and keys in the car.

In the gospels Jesus said the same thing: "Be watchful. Be alert". But His point is not meant to make us fearful and tense but, rather, during the season of Advent and indeed the rest of our lives, to be filled with watchful expectation as we await the fulfillment of God's promises. The Book of Revelation tells us that at the end "every tear will be wiped away; all suffering will cease." Those promises were announced with the coming of Jesus at Christmas and will be brought to completion at the Second Coming

Between the First and Second Coming is a time of preparation; of waiting for God. The season of Advent is a time of preparing for the celebration of our Lord's birth. The readings center on the Old Testament Prophecies concerning the Messiah and the establishment of his earthly Kingdom. The Messiah's coming was prophesized 600 years before His birth. The Jewish people were held captive in Babylonia and cried out "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" as they anticipated with great longing and expectation a deliverer who would ransom them. Filled with repentance they acknowledged themselves as ones who had "become like those whom God had never ruled.

Finally the day arrived at a manger in Bethlehem. On Christmas Day we hear from John's gospel, the Prologue. It starts with," In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." It includes the famous line, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Void of the historical details of Christ's birth, God painted the big picture: grace and truth came through Jesus Christ: Emmanuel: God with us.

Until Jesus comes again in power and great glory, the faithful are called to prepare for the Second Coming as, indeed, we prepare to celebrate his coming among us as a man who was like us in every way but free of sin. We, too, pray as we sing "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" This hymn was used in the medieval church in the weeks leading up to Christmas Eve. Each of the antiphons greets the anticipated Messiah with one of the titles ascribed to Him throughout the Old Testament: Wisdom, Emmanuel, The Lord of Might, The Rod of Jesse, Day-Spring and The Key of David.

As with the Church of old we rejoice that "Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel." On Christmas Day we, as Christians, the new Israel, acknowledge that this has happened. Jesus not only became Emmanuel "God with us" but even in a more personal way, "God in us." Let us carry this truth throughout the Advent Season. The miracle of Christmas is that God became one of us so that we could become like Him.