The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promises I made to the house of Israel and Judah. This Sunday marks the beginning of the season of Advent, a time when the Church, through the celebration of her liturgy, renews her ardent desire for the second coming of the Messiah by preparing to commemorate his first coming. The commemoration of the Messiah’s first coming (Christmas) for which the faithful prepare during this season is such an important event in the history of the universe because of the implication it has for the created world. The first coming of the Messiah fulfilled the promise that God had continuously made through his messengers the prophets, a promise of sending a savior who would lead God’s people to the enjoyment of the fullness of life. The passage from the book of the prophet Jeremiah which constitutes today’s First Reading is among those instances.
Speaking through Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord God addresses a people who have found themselves in crisis. Not only had the prophet’s people watched in horror as their beloved Jerusalem was reduced to rubble, the leading members of their community had also been forcefully carted off into exile. It was a difficult time for a people who had been promised growth and prosperity in their own land (cf. Deuteronomy 6:3). Suddenly finding themselves weak and vulnerable at the hands of other nations, the prophet’s community had all the reasons to lose hope in the promises which God had made to their ancestors. It was a situation which had been occasioned by the community’s failure to honor the vows they had made to the Lord. And while justice would have dictated that the Lord also rescind the promises he had made to them, the Lord chose to remain faithful. The Lord’s relationship with the community was not going to be defined by the action of the people. He had promised to be their God (cf. Exodus 6:7). It was thus that even as the hope of the prophet’s community was fading away, the Lord sent the prophet to bring them the Good News of the Lord raising for them a savior who would restore the community’s past glory and to lead them to the enjoyment of life eternal. And whereas in the course of time the Lord did raise several individuals who partially fulfilled the Lord’s promise, it was in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ that it was fully realized.
Jesus understood his ministry as a fulfillment of the promises which God had made not only to Israel but to the entire human race (cf. Luke 4:18-21). Jesus saw in his words and actions the salvific plan of God come to fruition. Whenever he exhorted the people to live in harmony as sons and daughters of God, or whenever he reached out to those who were pushed to the societal margins and brought them back into the warmth of the community, Jesus saw God reaching out to the people in order to save them. Jesus rightly understood that God cannot be said to have come to visit his people until all creation is reconciled to God. This reconciliation to God that characterizes God’s saving action towards God’s people had to be something which could be touched and seen. A people living in the shadow of God’s visitation have to demonstrate by their way of life that they have received God’s salvation. As Jesus reminded his disciples in the Gospel passage that we have read today, a people who have been visited by the Lord can not live in fear but must rather remain hopeful even in the face of adversity.
Today’s Gospel passage forms part of the instruction that Jesus gave concerning the end times. From Jesus’ descriptions, it was going to be a time characterized by wars, insurrections and persecution of believers. Naturally, it would be a chaotic time since everybody will be doing everything possible in order to save their lives. However, the disciples needed not to be alarmed. For even as the wars and insurrections would be going on, the disciples would need to stand erect and raise their hands since their redemption would be at hand. 
Jesus’s aim for talking about the events of the end times was not to frighten his disciples but rather to encourage them not to see in such events the end of everything. It is true these events will occur and that they will be frightening, but the disciples will have to remain strong and stand tall and radiate joy in hope for their immanent salvation. The culmination of all the events of the end time will be the second coming of the Messiah, the promised one. The Messiah will come to take with him those who shall have persevered the persecutions and remained steadfast in their faith.
The second coming of the Messiah which will be anticipated these days in the commemoration of the Messiah’s first coming is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s redemptive act which began at creation. For it is during that event (second coming) that the goal of creation – the salvation of the universe- will be fully realized. The Advent celebrations, although directed towards helping the faithful prepare for worthy commemoration of the first coming of the Messiah (Christmas), is also meant to help the faithful direct their minds and hearts to the second coming of the Messiah.