Every year, at the start of the Advent season, which coincides with the busiest time in our lives, I am struck by the tension between trying to quiet ourselves while actively waiting and preparing for the coming of Christ. At the start of Mass on the First Sunday of Advent, we pray for “the resolve to run forth to meet Christ,” and in the Solemn Blessing at the end of Mass we pray that “as [we] run the race of this present life, that [God] will make [us] firm in faith, joyful in hope and active in charity.”

I find that same tension in today’s readings. Through the Prophet Isaiah, God’s people are called to “open up the gates to let in a nation that is just and of firm purpose” while God humbles those in high places and brings down lofty cities, which are “trampled underfoot by the needy.” In the antiphon just before the Gospel, the Prophet urges us to “seek the Lord while he may be found; to call him while he is near.” And in the Gospel, Jesus urges us to be like the wise one and “build [our] house on rock” so that we will not be discouraged, collapse or be ruined by the pounding rain, the rising flood or the raging winds.

Amidst all of this, Jesus urges us to “listen to his words” and “to act on them.” As we run the race of life, as it is at this very moment, what gates must we open in order to be instruments of God’s justice in order to experience God’s peace that surpasses all understanding? Especially when in the midst of business, it can be tempting to close the doors, to hunker down and to turn in on ourselves. As we tend to the foundation upon which our world has been built – how might we be more attentive to Christ’s words? How might we seek and call upon the Lord as he draws nearer and nearer to us as we run through this Advent season?