Advent is the season to experience the love of Our Father

All new liturgical year starts with Advent in Catholic Church. ‘Getting ourselves ready’ is going to be the key topic in Advent. We all know that getting ready and early preparation means our eagerness to do something. We get ready to visit someone, to go to church, to look for an important project, to build a house and the like show our willingness and dedication. Early preparation allows us to involve fully and experience a sense of satisfaction. No one wants to watch a half movie if we want to go to a theatre. Our eagerness to welcome God’s son starts on the first day of Advent and continues right through the whole year.

Isaiah in the first reading reminds us of God’s presence in our lives as ‘The Father’. In most cultures fathers are heads of the families. In most cultures fathers don’t talk much or let the mothers do the talking. Children feel at home talking to their mothers. Almost all the needs are met through mothers. Fathers fulfill a great responsibility in the families and most often they are not aware of it. While mothers teach them how to love, be gentle, be creative, fathers bring in a security, peace, strength and honour to the family. Witnessing children living without fathers, apart from the fact that the father is dead, is a heartbreaking sight. Most often divorces have always been the selfishness, irresponsibility of the fathers.

Jesus continuously teaches us this particular love of the father. The ‘Abba’ experience of Jesus reveals how close he is to His Father. Though he lived in a patriarchal society, he showed us a father’s love. Fathers love their family in their own way. Fathers have hearts full of love. This Father of Jesus delivers us from evil. Jesus’ Father and Our Father rejoiced at our birth; loved the way we tried walking; saw through all our happy as well difficult moments. Jesus told Mary when he was 12: Don’t you know that I have to be busy with my Father’s business? This reveals to us that we too share the same business. Our Father’s business is to provide us a home, love, care and security to teach, to laugh and play with us.

Advent is not just a season to alert us that we should be watchful! Be alert! Devil is going to get you. Advent is first and foremost the season to experience the love of Our Father. God so loved the world, he sent his son. We experience the unconditional love of the father even to the limits of sacrificing His Son for us. He is ready now to see His Son as a creature and a man in all things except sin. What are we ready for? To love Him or to crucify him? Amen.