ADVENT - A NEW BEGINNING

december 1, 2007

Everyone needs a new beginning, a fresh start. The Church, being human as well as divine, is no exception. The annual time for Christians to make a fresh start is Advent. It is the season now upon us, and it is dedicated to helping us prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ at Christmas.

What we want to capture most of all at this time is the spirit of the Church's year. That spirit is the spirit of God's work, redeeming us in Christ. Throughout the Church's year of worship, the risen Christ himself, present and living in his Church, brings his people into contact with his mysteries, and so enables us to live by them.

The Church's year enables us to celebrate the whole mystery of Christ in his birth, public ministry, death and resurrection. Each Mass continues the whole work of our redemption, although each mystery, feast, and season brings its special grace through a specific remembrance. These mysteries and feasts are not just celebrations of an abstract idea or fact of Christian doctrine but of an event: Christ living in the midst of his people, carrying on the work of our redemption.

How do the mysteries we celebrate in Advent help bring about our salvation? The Scriptures give us some valuable clues. They speak of the need for watchfulness, because, they remind us, Christ comes when we least expect him. We can know the exact date of Christmas, but not the exact time or circumstances when Jesus, the Son of God, will "visit" us and "bring salvation to our house".

Consider his first coming, 2000 years ago. Despite all the monumental expectation and preparation for the Messiah, nearly everyone missed him when he came. He came in the fullness of time, but in a way no one was really prepared. There was an overheated expectation of a military conqueror and political leader in the style of King David of old, but no expectation at all for a carpenter's son born in poverty and obscurity.

Besides, the people of those times were just as occupied with daily work routines as we are today, and their temptation was the same as ours: to be too busy with the many little things in life to stop and give proper time to the few great things. They had not adequately considered what God might do. They were not open to the possibility of divine novelty.

The lesson is clear. When God's Son, Jesus Christ, first came two thousand years ago, he came shrouded in mystery and draped in unseen glory, and the way he came was a surprise. Only through the gift of faith could he be recognized and properly received as Lord.

When he comes today, he comes in much the same way. In Jesus' own words, "The Son of Man will come when you least expect him" (Lk 12:40).

Advent is a time to keep watch. We need the season because we need to prepare. We need to take time out from our activities in order to notice what God is doing. We need to loosen our grip on our own foolproof and thoroughly calculated plans for happiness, so that God can give us his joy. We need Advent because we need to let God interfere with us and interrupt us. We need to stop pursuing all that we pursue in order to recover a lost appreciation for the benefits of an obscure and ordinary life. Remember, it was shepherds on night watch who first received the good news of the birth of the Messiah.

We also need Advent to remember that the communion with God and with others in him, which we most need for happiness, can only be received as a gift. And we can only wait in trust that God, the greatest giver of gifts, will fill all our need at his own appointed time.

By asking us to prepare for surprises, sudden changes, and unexpected gifts, Advent teaches us how to live our whole life, and how to prepare for the final coming of Christ in glory. Advent is a time for deepened peace and quiet so that we can detect those hints or signals by which God wants to lead us out of possibly disordered lives and spiritual slumber. It is a time to make good intentions and to awaken anew to the reality of God.

+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 04-Dec-2007 11:37 sitemap