First Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 2
3 DEC 2023 A.D.


Reading 1
IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7

You, LORD, are our father,
our redeemer you are named forever.
Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,
while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,
such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him.
Would that you might meet us doing right,
that we were mindful of you in our ways!
Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful;
all of us have become like unclean people,
all our good deeds are like polluted rags;
we have all withered like leaves,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind.
There is none who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to cling to you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have delivered us up to our guilt.
Yet, O LORD, you are our father;
we are the clay and you the potter:
we are all the work of your hands.


Responsorial Psalm
PS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.




Reading II
1 COR 1:3-9

Brothers and sisters:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.


Alleluia
PS 85:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Show us Lord, your love;
and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel
MK 13:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his own work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”


Overview of the Gospel:

• This first Sunday of Advent’s Gospel reading is taken from the end of Mark’s version of the
Olivet Discourse (Mark 13:1ff; see also Matthew 24:4-14 and Luke 21:8-19), delivered on the
Mount of Olives outside of Jerusalem shortly before his Passion.

• The discourse itself was precipitated by a question from his disciples about the destruction of
the temple (verse 4), which Jesus had just predicted (verse 2). For the Jews, the end of the
temple was akin to the end of the world; the end of life as they knew it.

• Jesus’ discourse has elements of both events, plus predictions of the persecution to come
(verse 9-13; Acts 4:5ff, 6:12ff; Matthew 5:10-11; Romans 8:18), of false prophets (verse 21-
22), and of the warning signs of the time. The end of the temple and the end of time can also
be related to the end of each person’s life when he or she will be judged.

• At the same time, Jesus makes it clear that the exact timing of each of these events is
unknown (verse 32). This takes us to this Sundays Gospel passage.
[special thanks to Vince Contreras: "Sunday Scripture Study for Catholics."]


"For a person to go straight along the road, he must have some knowledge of the end--just as an archer will not shoot an arrow straight unless he first sees the target ... This is particularly necessary if the road is hard and rough, the going heavy, and the end delightful." ~ St. Thomas Aquinas

Thanks!

You're welcome, Brother, tortilla-flats!