To Whom Does Your Life Belong? ~ by Mary Ann Allen

Our scripture readings for the First Sunday of Advent call us to recognize our sinfulness and to return to God. Mark tells us in no uncertain terms that we are to be watchful and alert because our God will return.

The prophet Isaiah relates that the Israelites beg God to "return for the sake of your servants." The people admit their sinfulness, declaring that "all of us have become like unclean people; all our deeds are like polluted rags."

We, like the Israelites did, live in hope because we believe that God has made us with care and concern. He is the potter and we are the clay. God has molded us in His image and thus we are the perfection of God. As we recognize our sinfulness, we come to realize that it is not God who abandons us; it is we who turn away from Him.

In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul reminds us that God is faithful. He has given us the grace to keep us "firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

During Advent, we search for ways to become a gift to God. We each, individually, have a mission on Earth that has been given to us by God. The fulfillment of that mission is our gift to Him. How do we discover our mission? We let go of the idea that our lives belong to ourselves alone. We acknowledge that our lives really belong to God. We ask Him to show us what His mission (His Will) is for us. By doing this, we come out of the darkness where we center only on ourselves and where our actions can destroy not only ourselves but other people also. Instead, we move steadily toward the Light where we finally become the gift we return to God.


~ First Sunday of Advent ~