The Jews Missed the Messiah! (According to Christians)

Why Advent?  We have been listening to Christmas Carols in stores for months.  Churches have Christmas lights and Trees already up and decorated.  Why bother with a three week season this year?  Ponder this: The Jews Missed the Messiah!  (According to Christians)  But by our faith, the Jews, missed Him after generations and generations, of preparation.  Read the start of the Gospel of Matthew to confirm all the generations that they prepared.

I get tagged on Facebook with all the places that are celebrating Christmas.  Teachers and staff are quickly stopping their Christmas music when I show up.  I grew up and in house where advent was a wreath and we had advent calendars, but the prayer we prayed before we opened the window was, “let us remember as we pray this CHRISTMAS game that it was a night so long ago, that baby Jesus came.”  Well it is half and half.  My mom would have the house fully decorated for Thanksgiving so that we could enjoy it.

Every room, even bathrooms, had something Christmasy and she had what seemed like hundreds of different nativity sets, ornaments from all of our travels, it was spectacular.  Dad made it so that Christmas music started while we did the Thanksgiving dinner dishes.  The part that made me the most crazy was that Christmas evening my Mom was already planning on taking it all down.  She was tired of it.  My dad’s battle was to leave the main Nativity scene up long enough for the Wise Guys to show up at Epiphany.

Why Advent?

I sometimes want to say, OH HECK WITH IT, do what you want.  But I can’t, it is too important.  Listen to the prophecies.  Think about all the preparation the Jews had for the exact Messiah foretold to them for all these generations.  By skipping Advent and diving into Christmas, are we robbing ourselves of the season we need the most?

I look at our world and think most people don’t get it.  As I look at my life, I realize in many aspects, I am still struggling to get it.  If we got it, we wouldn’t let our friends sit at home, we wouldn’t passively attend Mass or any church.  We would be unstoppable.

Advent is a season to focus on preparation.  We are giving this season, to focus on what we do daily to be prepared.  Can we afford to take this for granted?  There was a book many years ago The Inconvenient Truth and although I have no idea what it was about or if I ever even read it, the title strikes me this Advent.

Our Inconvenient Truth

By Baptism we are called to evangelize.  I fear we are falling into the same trap as the Jews.  We become complacent.  We go to church, we tithe, we do all the things we are supposed to, just like the scribes, pharisees and Sadducees.

Question to help us focus on Advent:

Are we dealing with everyone in our lives as a creation of God?  Even the wonderful people cutting us off in traffic or “stealing” our parking places?

What would I do if this were my last day? (answer should be nothing, I’m ready) (it isn’t for most of us)

Who do I need to drag into church?

Do I spend enough time everyday with God?

If God appears before me, will I recognize that as my God?  (don’t be too sure, many Jews missed Jesus)

As the readings challenge us, Wake UP!  The time is at hand!  Even if the second coming isn’t close, the world is in desperate need of Christians on fire with their faith!