BIBLE/Liturgical STUDY for 1st Sunday of Advent - 11/30/2025 - Novus Ordo / Year A
Theme: Awake, for the King Is Near — Advent as the Season of Urgent Hope and Moral Clarity
Readings (Year A)
First Reading: Isaiah 2:1–5
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 122:1–9
Second Reading: Romans 13:11–14
Gospel: Matthew 24:37–44
(USCCB official readings link)
“Now Is the Hour to Awake from Sleep”
I. Advent Begins with Fire, Not Frost
The world begins “the holidays” in a haze of sentimentality, comfort, and distraction.
The Church, by contrast, begins Advent by sounding a cosmic alarm clock:
Wake up. The Lord is coming.
Prepare your soul.
Stand firm.
Do not be caught asleep.
The First Sunday of Advent in Year A is one of the most morally and spiritually urgent Sundays in the entire liturgical year.
It gives us three commands:
Look up — the King is coming.
Walk in the light — cast off sin.
Stay awake — do not drift into spiritual drowsiness.
This is Advent as the Church intends:
hope sharpened into vigilance,
peace rooted in conversion,
joy born of clarity.
II. First Reading: Isaiah 2:1–5
“Come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.”
Isaiah gives one of the most beautiful images in Scripture:
the nations streaming up the mountain of the Lord like a river flowing uphill.
Why uphill?
Because grace reverses nature.
In Advent, God reverses history.
The nations come to:
receive His law
learn His ways
walk in His paths
Then comes the famous line:
“They shall beat their swords into plowshares.”
IMPORTANT NOTE:
This is not naïve pacifism — Isaiah is describing the peace that comes when God Himself rules.
This is the peace of God’s kingdom, not the peace of human politics.
Advent begins with longing for this kingdom.
III. Psalm 122 — “Let Us Go Rejoicing to the House of the Lord”
This psalm is the song of pilgrims ascending Jerusalem.
It is the soundtrack of Advent — the soul traveling toward God.
In Advent, the Church is:
the pilgrim,
the traveler,
the watcher,
the one who longs for the King’s arrival.
The psalm expresses how hope becomes joy as we draw near.
IV. Second Reading: Romans 13:11–14 — The Advent Manifesto
One of the most important Advent texts:
“It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.”
Not “soon.”
Not “eventually.”
Not “when you feel inspired.”
NOW.
Paul describes spiritual sleep as:
moral compromise
addiction to comfort
distraction
worldliness
numbness of soul
Then he says:
“The night is advanced; the day is at hand.”
Christianity is built on the conviction that history is not coasting — it is accelerating toward Christ.
The Christian therefore lives with urgency, clarity, and purpose.
Then comes the Advent command:
“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Advent is not simply preparing for a holiday.
It is preparing for a Person — the Judge, the Bridegroom, the King.
V. Gospel: Matthew 24:37–44 — “Stay Awake!”
Jesus references the days of Noah:
life as usual,
distraction,
banality,
comfort,
sin,
spiritual sleep.
Then the flood came.
Not terror —
but judgment.
Jesus warns that His coming will be just as sudden:
“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken, one left.”
“If the master had known the hour… he would have stayed awake.”
“So too, you also must be prepared.”
Catholic Interpretation
The point is not predicting dates.
The point is that unprepared souls will be taken by surprise.
Advent is the season when the Church grabs us by the shoulders and says:
Wake up. The King is coming. Prepare your soul.
VI. The Unifying Message — Prepare for the King
The readings all converge into one Advent identity: the vigilant disciple.
ReadingThemeIsaiahThe kingdom will come — walk in the lightPsalmWe are pilgrims ascending to GodRomansWake up and cast off darknessMatthewStay awake for the coming of the Son of Man
Thus the Novus Ordo Year A Advent begins with:
eschatological urgency
moral seriousness
joyful hope
spiritual vigilance
VII. Advent and Reverence
A Catholic who believes these texts cannot worship casually.
He cannot sleepwalk through Mass or treat Advent like a pre-Christmas shopping season.
To insist on reverence is not arrogance —
it is charity for Christ, whose coming demands awe.
If Isaiah trembled at the glory of God,
and Paul shouted “Awake!”,
and Christ warned “Stay awake!”,
how could the believer act otherwise?
Advent looks outward toward the Second Coming
and inward toward the state of the soul.
VIII. Applications
Examine your conscience; make a strong Advent confession.
Reduce noise, increase silence.
Practice daily Scripture meditation.
Light the Advent wreath with intentionality.
Reject spiritual mediocrity — pursue reverence in worship.
Advent in the Novus Ordo Year A begins with the full power of Scripture:
Wake up. Walk in the light. Live in readiness. Hope fiercely.
The cry of Advent is not a whisper —
it is a trumpet blast across history:
MARANTHA! “Come, Lord Jesus!”