Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

 Lectionary: 178

A strong city have we;
he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.
Open up the gates
to let in a nation that is just,
one that keeps faith.

A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace;

in peace, for its trust in you."

In the twenty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, we hear a prophecy of doom about God's holy people and their city: 

See! The LORD is about to empty the earth and lay it waste;
he will twist its surface,
and scatter its inhabitants:
People and priest shall fare alike:
servant and master,
Maid and mistress,
buyer and seller,
Lender and borrower,
creditor and debtor.
The earth shall be utterly laid waste, utterly stripped,
for the LORD has decreed this word.

Saint Paul alluded to this warning when he said 

I tell you, brothers, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away. (I Cor 7:29-31) 

The "strong city with walls and ramparts to protect us," found in today's first reading, is the Church; that is, the fellowship of men and women with whom you pray, whom  you support as they support you in the life of holiness. Before the Church is an institution, it must be a fellowship of people who love God and one another. 

The cacophonous world opposes our prayer. If at one time they used television and radio to drive us out of our personal space, they now use smart phones and smart watches. It takes a very deliberate and intentional act for us to put these things away when we enter a sacred space. We must not burden the altars of our hearts with an abomination of desolation, as Jerusalem's pagan occupiers had. 

Advent is that end of year/beginning of the year when we clean out the dirty places and brighten the dark spaces and build a sanctuary for the Lord. We're reminded often enough that the time is running out. It might be an accident at home, a crash on the highway, a terrorist attack, or a multinational war. None of these threats should catch us off guard, unaware, or napping.