Silly me for even thinking that Advent might have a long-shot claim at that title of most important season. I wonder how the folks at Sears might interpret today s gospel. Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. No time for dallying or distraction. Get out there at 6 a.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Advent is from the Latin, adventus , which simply means coming.
Retailers are not the only ones who are aware at this time of year that something big is coming. It is a season of mixed messages and skewed priorities all competing for our attention. And then comes the First Sunday in Advent, exploding in the midst of it all as a kind of time bomb. Advent is a yearly time bomb that explodes precisely at the moment when we are most confused about life s priorities. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.