Perhaps Today

A Reflection on the Second Reading for December 15th, 2019:
Third Sunday of Advent

James 5.7-10

Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

Brothers and sisters, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the Prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

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From 2012-2014, I attended a faith formation school in Saskatchewan and lived in a catholic young adult community while studying. Our formation director taught our class a phrase, which we repeated regularly. He almost always closed our times of prayer with, “Come, Lord Jesus”, and our response would be, “Perhaps today!”.


Before learning this prayer, I hadn’t given much thought to Jesus’ second coming. Our director reminded us that, after Jesus ascended into heaven, His apostles went out to proclaim the Gospel with such diligence and vigour because they anticipated that Christ would return in their lifetime. That is why James says in his letter, “Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near”.


Over time I’ve noticed how much we reference Christ’s second coming in the mass. For instance, in the Nicene Creed we say, “He will come again in glory”, and one of our responses in the Liturgy of the Eucharist is, “when we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.” Sometimes I get stuck in confusion over why Christ would give the impression to the Apostles that he was coming so soon, and why it has been over 2000 years and He hasn’t returned yet. Maybe even frustration... how patient are we supposed to be?
Then I catch myself, and wonder, “Am I actually ready for Him to come?”


I will graciously accept all the preparation time I can get, because (God knows) I need all the time He can afford to give me so that I can grow in love and holiness. There is a lot of work yet to be done in me.
When I remember to say, “Come, Lord Jesus... Perhaps today!”, it serves as a wake-up call. The Advent Season is, similarly, a time to wake up! To ask: “Am I ready for Christ to come into the world, and into my life”. He wants to be born in our hearts, but we believe He will truly come again… and at an unexpected hour. But we don’t need to be afraid of the uncertainty – He invites us to trust Him now, and to enter into communion with Him through the Church. He loves and cares for us, and He has great purpose behind helping us grow in patience and in faith.
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May we anticipate Christ’s arrival with joy and hope, and may we make the most of the time we have on earth to patiently wait for His return.


Kendra Lang

Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash

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