OUR REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH
A Modern Icon of Christ and the Fig Tree A SERMON FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT By Bp. Joseph ( Ancient Church of the West ) INTRODUCTION Beloved in Christ, we come now to the Second Sunday of Advent, when the Church directs us to lift our eyes toward the horizon of history and behold the nearness of our redemption. Advent moves with a double rhythm. It looks back to the quiet cave of Bethlehem, where the Word took flesh in humility, and it looks forward to the cloud of glory, where the same Lord shall appear as Judge and King. The first week calls us to awaken from slumber and cast off the works of darkness. This second week calls us to walk in the light with patience, sobriety, and hope, watching for the signs of the Kingdom in the trembling of creation and the stirring of the human heart. It teaches us the signs of the Apocalypse. Advent does not offer escape from the world’s sorrows. It teaches us to interpret them, to read the shaking of the nations as Christ’s own assurance tha...
