Today begins the season of Advent and Advent comes from the Latin word “Adventus” meaning coming or preparation for an arrival. It is a time we are waiting and preparing for the coming of Christ at Christmas. When we are expecting a very important person or some guests to come, a particular reality called waiting is very imminent.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King that Our Lord Jesus Christ is the King of the Universe which is to say that He is the beginning and end of everything. The readings focus on the Kingdom which extends beyond this world and goes on to demonstrate that Jesus does not rule like our human kings. He rules in humility and from the cross to show that His kingdom is different from the rest of the emperors of the world and kings of the world.

Today, we live in a world of so many uncertainties, wars, violence, disease, family disintegrations, religious violence, dangerous theologies and philosophies, economic and political turmoil. These events have pushed many to conclude that the end time is very near. Many people also have caved in on these events and gone ahead to prophesy that the end of the world is very close at hand.

Our first reading of today is taken from the second book of the Maccabees and it is good to note that one of the best known passages of the books of the Maccabees is the account of the martyrdom of a mother and her seven sons. They were willing to sacrifice their own lives rather than transgress the law and commandment of God. Despite the torture, the entire family remained faithful and offered the supreme sacrifice of their love and fidelity.

The first reading from the book of Wisdom tells how God overlooks our sins that we may repent. In the book of Ezekiel 18:23, “Have I any pleasure in the death of wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live.” The book of Wisdom treats a wide range of topics like judgment, persecution, the virtue of wisdom and eternal life. However, today’s passage asserts that God’s creation is all good for if He hated a thing He would not have created it. As the book of Genesis says, after each creation God saw that it was very good.

Last Sunday’s liturgy presented us with the importance of prayer and the need to persevere in prayer. In today’s gospel reading we are presented with the right attitude to prayer and the nature our prayer should take. This is seen in the parable Jesus gave of two men, a Pharisee and a tax collector who went up to the temple to pray.

The liturgy of today invites us to reflect on the enormous power of prayer to accomplish results and change events and situations that seem impossible. We are to persevere in prayer especially when it appears God is silent or delays in getting answers to our prayer.

Today’s liturgy calls our attention to the virtue of thanksgiving or gratitude and how it should be expressed. It is important to state that Our Eucharistic celebration of the Mass is our highest expression of our thanksgiving and gratitude for what God has done for us and that is why attending Mass every Sunday should be a priority.

The Liturgy of today presents us with the issue of faith. In the first reading from the Prophet Habakkuk, it says “the righteous shall live by faith” while in the Gospel the apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith. And in response Jesus told them “if you had faith as a grain of mustard seed you can say to this mulberry tree be rooted up, and be planted in the sea, and it would obey you.”

Listening to the harsh words of Prophet Amos directed against the rich and wealthy in the first reading and the condemnation of the rich man to hell in today’s Gospel one may think that God is against the rich or that the wealthy are cut off from the kingdom of God. But such idea is far from the truth.

The first reading from Prophet Amos condemns the attitude of the rich who exploits the poor for their own selfish advantage. Prophet Amos warns us never to exploit anybody or take advantage of any person because of the person’s vulnerability.

Today’s Gospel’s passage is one of those passages in the Bible we have heard many times however, at each time we read it afresh, it resonates new insights about God’s mercy and love. God’s compassion is unlimited; He wants to embrace us always with this love.

Today’s first reading from the book of Wisdom explains that the things of the earth, which are within our own grasp, are difficult for us humans to comprehend. How then can we grasp the heavenly realities? Solomon in his numerous quests for answers on existential realities posed one fundamental question, who could know divine counsel?