Commentary on the Gospel – Sunday, November 30, 2025

Dear brothers and sisters, peace and goodness to you.

As you know, today we begin the new liturgical year, which is different from the civil year, the school year, or the work calendar. The liturgical year also has twelve months, but it is not divided into four seasons. Instead, it is divided into different periods. The liturgical year is not ruled by the weather or by solstices and equinoxes. It is ruled by the story of God’s relationship with us, and above all, by the story of Jesus. In Jesus, God made a New Covenant with us.

At the center of the liturgical year is Easter, the Resurrection of the Lord, or if you prefer, the Paschal Triduum from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday. After Easter comes the Easter season, which lasts seven weeks, and before it comes Lent, which lasts six weeks. There are also two special seasons: Advent, which lasts four weeks, and Christmas, which lasts about two weeks. After Christmas and after Easter we live in Ordinary Time.

During Advent, our Roman liturgy celebrates the two comings of our Lord Jesus Christ. On one hand, these weeks prepare us for the feast of His birth, when He came among us for the first time, fulfilling the ancient promises and opening the way of salvation. On the other hand, we also look forward to His second coming. As Saint Cyril of Jerusalem said, remembering the Lord’s humble coming strengthens our joyful hope for His return “in the majesty of His glory.”

The book of Isaiah speaks of a new world order where “swords will be turned into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.” But when will this happen? Looking at our world, it may seem that nothing changes. Sometimes we grow tired of waiting and lose patience. Yet Jesus asks us this Sunday to stay awake and be ready for “the day of the Lord.” This day is not about destruction; it is about the beginning of new times, the messianic age, when peace will reign—the greatest gift of all, as Psalm 121 reminds us.

Today the Word tells us that Jesus, the Son of Man, comes to free us from all slavery and uncertainty. He is our justice and our salvation. Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, says that salvation is near. God’s judgment is for salvation, not condemnation. But we must wake up and live as people of the day, with dignity. We must put aside the works of darkness: overeating, drunkenness, lust, wild living, fighting, and quarrels. We can add other things from our own time that keep us away from the light. Saint Augustine began to weep when he read this passage, and he decided to change his life completely, clothing himself with Christ. We too can think about what we need to change.

The Gospel may sound strange to you. It is like overhearing bits of a conversation: sometimes you catch a phrase, then nothing, then another word. It feels disconnected. But some things are clear. For example, what happened in Noah’s time: people were eating, drinking, and marrying. Jesus paints a vivid picture of ordinary life—people busy with daily routines. But suddenly the flood came, and they were not expecting it.

We can learn from this. We are not asked to abandon our daily responsibilities—our work schedules, school calendars, social commitments, parties, and weddings. But something can change: we can give more depth to our lives. Let us learn to live everything from God and toward God, so that all our actions come from Him as their source and return to Him as their goal.

Jesus shows us how important it is not to cling to the things of this world. We prepare for His second coming by living attentively, because we do not know the day or the hour. In this time of waiting, God’s people face many challenges. There have always been problems, and there always will be. What matters is being ready to respond as God wants. That moment may come at our death, or at a decisive turning point in life. It may find us “in the field” or “grinding at the mill.” What matters is not where we are, but what is in our hearts—how we live while waiting for that moment.

We should not prepare for that moment as if it were an “exam.” Jesus calls us to live in such a way that we are always ready to meet Him. People may not see the difference between two workers in the same field, but God looks deep into the heart. What will we think about at the most important moment—at the time of choice, disaster, or death? Will we think about things left at home, or about what others think of us? Maybe. But if we lack the one thing that matters most—love, which guides our choices—nothing else will save us from inner emptiness. Before God, we will stand as we truly are.

Am I able to find God in daily life? Or am I replacing Him with idols like success, comfort, or other things? What is most important to me? Let us talk with Him about this today.

I believe we have a beautiful task ahead of us during these four weeks: to prepare our hearts as if they were a cradle ready to receive the One who gives us life. The train of hope will pass before us—let us not miss it. Let us get on board and value all the good we find along the way. Let us also be bearers of hope, hopeful and encouraging. In this way, all of us traveling together on the train of life can build a new humanity moving toward the heavenly Jerusalem. Let us be prophets of hope, not of despair. The world is tired of voices of doom; what we need are people filled with hope.

Your brother in faith,