November 22, 2022 at 4:58 p.m.
We look forward
We look forward
We are, to be sure, an historical faith. We value and learn from our stories, narratives and testimonies of God’s action in our lives and the lives of our spiritual ancestors, saints and sinners alike. We are also people of vision who look forward to what God does in the present and promises us in days to come.
Those of us who cherish the memories and customs we shared with parents, grandparents, family and friends who are not with us as we celebrate, experience a certain longing, even sadness that comes from being separated from loved ones deceased or apart from us physically or emotionally for any number of reasons. The start of the new liturgical year this Sunday — the Advent season — brings all these realities together and invites us to experience the joy of the present where both experiences past and hope for the fulfillment to come are united.
God is never nearer than in the present. That is why Jesus gives us the Sacrament of his Body and Blood, accessible here and now at every Mass. He did not only want us to remember his sacrificial gift of the pouring out of his life on the Cross, which he memorialized in the form of a meal, celebrated the night before he died. He wants us to “make it happen” every time we come together as a people who gives thanks — Eucharist means “thanksgiving” — a sacramental miracle in which he promises his presence through the great mystery of the priestly consecration, the transubstantiation of these simple elements of bread and wine.
Advent means “coming to,” in the sense of old Scrooge coming to his senses when he realizes what it is all about to be human. Much of his life, as Charles Dickens tells the story in “A Christmas Carol,” has been spent, wasted really, on trying to hold onto the things he has accumulated — his money, treasures from the past. He defines himself by what he has earned and what he stores up in his coffers, only to learn that he is a prisoner of his own past and cannot see the love of those around him in the present.
If we only hold on to what we were or what has happened to us, like Lot’s wife who looked back on the sinful city she and her fellow travelers were fleeing from, we freeze, or as the biblical narrative relates, we turn into pillars of salt, dry and bitter, full of the substance that is meant to season our lives but not consume them. We become prisoners of ourselves, locked in our own egos, paralyzed by fear. Our faith invites us on a journey, to look forward, as the disciples on the road to Emmaus recounted their history even as they kept moving along. True to his promise — “where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in your midst” — Jesus showed up in the breaking of the bread.
Advent is full of beautiful reminders of salvation history, the action of God in the lives of the faithful. It leads us to discover that what God has done to those who trust in his word will happen to us now in the present as the Holy Spirit renews the face of the earth. It is a great “pick me up” as we move into the dark and cold days of winter, a light that leads us through the wilderness of the worlds we often find ourselves wandering in without a compass to keep us oriented.
My dad and mom always had a way about them that kept us focused on the positive. Like all families, we had our issues and struggles with making ends meet, illness and, yes, in-laws. We had our share of things to complain about, the growing pains of all families living in tough times. One thing we always shared, however, was our family meals and the rhythm of our faith. Sunday was a day not like others. It was not always easy for my parents to get us out of bed and ready for Mass. We did not often attend the same one, but we went.
This Sunday would be a good time for us all to renew our commitment as disciples to participate in the sacramental life of the Church. Many of us will be making plans for the days ahead by cleaning up the house, preparing various lists of people we want to contact and gifts we would like to make or purchase for loved ones. It will not be easy this year because of our economic hardships. Rather than lament the things we wish we could do or what we might have to do without, our faith can renew our focus on the One who is to come, Jesus our Lord and Savior, who invites, like the Magi, to follow his star.
We just celebrated the Feast of Christ the King and were reminded how different Jesus is from other kings and people in high places. Unlike most royalty and elite, Jesus is the king who comes to us. His throne is the cross, which brings him close to us, sharing in our sufferings and giving us not presents that perish, but his very self, which gives us eternal life. It is what we celebrate and receive as food at every Mass. Jesus gives us his own life, eternal life itself.
My prayer is that every one of us will take the time to listen to “the voice crying in the wilderness.” Many of the signs and symbols of the secular world will tempt us to get lost in the noisy hustle and bustle of the “Christmas” rush. The tree does not have to go up the day after Thanksgiving only to be dry before Christmas really comes or discarded the day after. We might instead consider making an Advent wreath, lighting a candle each Sunday as we move slowly, prayerful, in a reflective spirit toward our celebration of the Lord’s birth.
The purpose of Advent is to prepare our hearts to receive the gift of Jesus himself, to prepare ourselves for the true king of our hearts, freed of the tyrants of fear and addiction that can so quickly drain our lives and consume our joy. Listening to the stories of our faith, as the Sunday and weekday scriptures throughout Advent invite us to, we can learn lessons from history without repeating its errors.
Recall that most people missed the coming of the Lord because they did not expect him to be found in a stable instead of a palace. It was the people outside the city walls, close to the soil, the shepherds, who heard the angels’ announcement first. To hear the Lord’s voice today, it takes only a willingness to listen. Without a doubt, the Lord will come.
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