Dear Friends,

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

This excerpt from today’s Gospel is called the Great Commandment, because it is the key to our spiritual attitudes and moral conduct. It is appropriate for us to keep this commandment in mind, especially as we observe the Sunday of Advent. Advent means “coming.” This is a time for us to prepare for Christ’s coming to Jerusalem as the Victorious King, which we will celebrate next week on Palm Sunday. It is also a reminder for us to prepare for Christ’s second coming at the end of the age.

People speculate about when Christ will come. The truth is that we don’t know. Christ Himself said, “As for the day and time nobody knows, not the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” The message to us is clear. We are advised to be ready. Not to be like the scribes and pharisees, who in their hypocrisy were concerned only with outward appearances and were spiritually empty on the inside.

When we are expecting a house guest we take extra care to be sure our home is presentable. But what if someone comes unannounced and everything is not in order? The Sunday of Advent reminds us that a very special guest is coming and we should make sure that we keep our spiritual house in order.

The Gospel teaches us that we “have one Master, the Christ.” St. Paul’s epistle affirms that “Christ is all and in all.” In the Gospel Christ tells us not to follow the example of the scribes and pharisees because of their hypocrisy. Their words and actions were not consistent.

“If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is.” If we listen to these words and apply them in our lives them we will also be able to rejoice and proclaim “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

With blessings,
Rev. Fr. Sahak M. Kaishian
Interim Pastor
March 29, 2009