“And while they were watching him going up to heaven, behold, two men stood near them in white vestments. And they said: ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up toward heaven?  The Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall return in just the same way that you have seen him going up to heaven’” (Acts 1: 10-11).

The First Advent was through divine incarnation as a Baby; but the Second Advent promises to be through a spectacular appearance in the sky to be witnessed by all those still alive by then. The purpose, this time around, will not be to come and save mankind, but to judge humanity. Judgement occurs every time the soul is parted from the body, but the Final Judgement belongs to the Last Day.

It is difficult to believe that this world, as we know it, is passing away; that the earth, like every other thing on it, has an expiry date that is known only to the One who created it. But so it was in the days of Noah, before the Great Flood. People were still wining and dining when the Flood came; first, in trickles, and then in a deluge (Matthew 24:36-39). So will it be for the present generation.

The fact that Jesus Christ himself does not know the exact date of his Second Coming (Mark 13:32-33) makes the situation all the more mystifying and disturbing. He is simply waiting for the instructions of God the Father to move and swing into action. Whether it will occur tomorrow or in a million years is immaterial; the Lord God is the author of time, and He deals, not with digital time, but with the timelessness of eternity. The only option we have is to be prepared at all times; living every day as if it is the last, because it, indeed, may well be the last, at least, as far as the individual is concerned.

Do you know what meal or what drink shall be your last on earth? Our plans should be based on ‘if’ and not on ‘when’, because the ‘when’ may never be. The only time we are ever sure of is now; not even the next minute, because death takes only seconds to occur, and there is many a slip between the cup and the lip.  Be prepared!

Advent means expectation; it means hoping for something to come or to happen. Thus the nature of the advent depends on the kind of thing that is being expected. A couple planning their wedding are looking forward to the joy of marriage; a person expecting the delivery of his choice car is looking forward to the pleasure he will derive from driving it; a person travelling to a new place he has heard so much about but has never been to before looks forward to the indescribable pleasures of the beauty and serenity he has conjured up in his mind. But, the criminal undergoing trial is also waiting; waiting for the eventual outcome of the judgement; the convict condemned to death is in dreadful expectation of the hangman’s noose. So, how we feel at waiting depends on what we are waiting for, and what we are expecting to happen.

                                  

Thus, the trick to good Advent is to ensure that we look forward to glorious things to come. The housekeeper who is diligently doing her scrubbing and cleaning is not afraid that her master can return without warning; but the one who is busy stealing food or other items is worried about the possibility of being caught in the act, if the master suddenly returns.

In the same way, one who is living a sinful life must be worried about the Second Advent, because it could mean disaster and spiritual death for him. So, although we cannot choose the type of death we want, we can always choose the type of life to live, which ultimately determines the type of death we die. Paradise must be a beautiful and pleasant place, while Hell must be a horrible and abominable place to be in, for a few minutes, talk less for eternity. Looking forward to paradise is like looking forward to an enchanting place, far more captivating than the most beautiful places on earth. But nobody wants to contemplate going to Hell. 

The Devil wants as many people as possible to join him in Hell; hence, he tempts people with the pleasures of sin, most especially sins of the flesh, capable of destroying the soul. So, it is up to us as individuals to make Advent either a pleasant expectation or a frightening prospect. The hope of going to Heaven and to enjoy Paradise takes the bite off the bugbear of death; after all, the pleasant end justifies the painful means. The cross is a worthy price to pay for a saintly crown.

The First Advent caught everybody unaware; the birth of Jesus Christ turned out a great pleasure after the fact, and it was first revealed to the three Magi who were led by a special star to do homage to the Infant Jesus, bringing meaningful gifts with them. Herod felt threatened, but failed in his bid to destroy the greatest Baby ever born. When we celebrate that First Advent, we merely try to savour the pleasure that should have been ours, and that has, indeed, become ours, by the coming of Jesus to save us from eternal damnation. But the Second Advent should meet us fully prepared; whether it is the smaller personal advent of our own end, or the bigger Advent of the end of the World. There is still time for each of us to determine where we wish to spend eternity. The quality of our present life determines the manner of waiting and our expectations at the end of the journey of life.