I once heard a story about a group of third graders who were asked to draw a picture based on the sentence: “He will come again in glory.”
One child drew Jesus stepping off a jumbo jet onto a red carpet, with photographers flashing their cameras. Another pictured Him riding in a limousine with a police escort.
One drew Jesus in a spaceship, explaining that it had taken Him 2,000 years to return because space travel takes so long. Another showed Jesus on the cover of a magazine, and one more had Him being interviewed on TV.
What was striking was not what the young students drew, but what they didn’t draw. Not one of them drew Jesus on a donkey. Not one imagined Him coming down on a cloud from Heaven. And most curiously, not one placed Him inside a church.
Yet in their own way, those children captured something essential: they put Jesus into the context of their own time, here and now.
When we first hear today’s Gospel, we might think Jesus is warning us only about the end of the world. But His message is much deeper. The real challenge is not simply preparing for His coming at the end of time, or even at the hour of our death. The challenge is to recognize Him and meet Him during our lives, in the present moment.
Like those children, we must place Jesus into the context of our own time – not just the past or the future, but today.
And Advent gives us the chance to do just that. This season invites us to make room for Christ in the present moment: in our hearts, our homes and our lives. Yes, we wait for the birth of Jesus at Christmas, but Christmas is not only about the Child lying in a manger. It’s about Christ living within us, guiding us and reminding us that God is still with His people.
As St. John the Baptist cried out, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” How do we do that? Perhaps by going to confession. Maybe by healing a broken relationship. By making right something that is wrong. By deepening our relationship with Christ.
God gave us the greatest gift of all: His only Son. That is a gift worth opening long before December 25th.
Christ comes to us in so many ways. He is present in our Church. He comes to us in the Eucharist. He comes to us each day, in the people around us. We must open our eyes to see Him in our brothers and sisters, for truly knowing Jesus is the cornerstone of our Christian faith.
Advent is a season of waiting – waiting for the birth of the Lord. But it is also true that God waits for us. He waits for us to finally make a change, to do something lasting, to turn good thoughts and intentions into good deeds.
This message also connects with the Jubilee Year we are celebrating, which concludes on the Feast of the Epiphany after Christmas.
As Pilgrims of Hope, we are called to bear the light of Christ into the world’s shadows, and Advent challenges us to embody that hope in concrete ways – through love, mercy and generosity toward our neighbors.
So, as we prepare for Christmas, let us make this Advent different. Ask yourselves: What changes do I need to make so that others may have a truly Merry Christmas? Not necessarily with material gifts, but with patience, kindness, listening and thoughtfulness.
My friends, prepare the way of the Lord. If you do, this Advent will not be just another season on the calendar. It will be a season of grace. And this Christmas may be unlike any you have ever known.
