Second Coming:
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Marshall Cook

"Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed."

Advent is the glorious season of waiting. We prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, when God became man, walked with us for a short time, and died for us on the cross.

Had the story ended there on the cross, some might still celebrate Jesus as prophet and martyr, for clearly He spoke with the authority of the Father.

Second Sunday of Advent (Dec. 4, 2005) Is 40:1-5, 9-11 Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14 2 Pt 3:8-14 Mk 1:1-8

But the story didn't and doesn't end there. Jesus the Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, with the promise that He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and to initiate God's Kingdom on Earth.

Thus the second vigil, superimposed upon the first. We await not just the celebration of what was but of what is to come, when the faithful shall at last see the Father as He is and live in "new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells."

The early Christians thought the Second Coming was imminent and that they would see it in their lifetimes. And perhaps to our Lord, it will be "right away," since for the Lord "one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day."

Not only are God's ways not our ways, but His sense of time is apparently very different from ours.

"Right away" has been 2,000 years and counting, and still we wait, "eager to be found without spot or blemish before Him, at peace."

Since we know not when the Master will come, our charge is to be ever alert, ever watchful, to keep our lamps filled with the oil of faith against His coming "like a thief in the night."

When Hurricane Katrina struck us earlier this year, one in a series of natural and unnatural disasters that left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless and displaced, some said the long-awaited Second Coming must at last be at hand.

After all, Revelation tells us that disaster and devastation will signal the coming of the End Times, when God's chosen will be taken up to Him at last. Surely these times qualify as disastrous.

But folks said the same thing when floods devastated Louisiana 160 years ago. They said it in 1900 when a hurricane destroyed the Gulf city of Galveston, killing thousands.

Remember, too, we lost Chicago once, to the great fire, and San Francisco to the earthquake, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the bomb. We've seen hundreds of thousands die in wars, seen great men assassinated, seen hopes raised and hopes dashed.

	Reflection questions • Are you preparing or merely waiting? • What can you do to get ready that you aren't doing now?

And still this poor old world goes on, and still we wait, trying to remain spotless and singing together songs that echo the words of Isaiah: "Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low."

We are to do more than wait. We must prepare the way for Him, in our hearts and in our world. Pray without ceasing, dear ones. Worship together. Marinate in the Word. He is coming - we know not when!

Marshall J. Cook teaches writing for the UW-Madison Division of Continuing Studies. He's the author of 24 books, most recently the Monona Quinn mystery Murder at Midnight.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Faith Alive!

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	Faith in the Marketplace   This Week's Discussion Point: Why are memories of our early years in life so important to us?     Selected Response From Readers:
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