I have a good friend and colleague of mine who has been stricken with severe illness. He has successfully completed surgery and is now in recovery and will receive further rehabilitation. The arrival of the chronic illness was a surprise and now his life will be changed. He will be retiring from a position and career that he loves and in which he has consistently provided outstanding service and assistance to others.
Now, he will be seeking assistance and support from others.
The Christian tradition has characterized the season of Advent, the beginning of the liturgical church year, as a time of waiting, a period of preparation to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Thus, what we experience in churches and in the culture, is a lot of hustle and bustle. Many Christmas parties, Christmas church pageants and concerts, Christmas progressive dinners. Of course, there is lots of shopping. This year commerce online has overtaken, to a great degree, retail sales in brick and mortar stores. Will we end up totally cocooning in our homes with this Amazonization of consumer spending ?
But the Advent season also cautions the risk of danger.
The prophet Isaiah tells us:
A voice cries:[a] “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
(Isaiah 40. 3 )
This is not the celebratory tone of “O happy days are here again. “, rather its sounding the alarm that there needs to be work done to bring in this new heavenly Kingdom.
This work will involve personal introspection, reviewing what has been done and what has been left undone and hopefully a resolve to do better.
Many of us can affirm that there is much that could be done better. We need religious leaders to be brave and speak out against violent atrocities committed against vulnerable populations. There is no moral rationalization to stay silent and hide behind the veil of a religious tradition. When suffering is at the forefront, there needs to be a witness for peace and a call to end violence. When this doesn’t happen, not only is talk cheap but so is religious faith.
Waiting for the birth of Jesus, for the further revelation of the Kingdom of God is exhilarating and sobering. The process of giving birth to new life will be a transformative experience.
I believe that my friend will indeed recover and will go on and continue to have a prosperous rewarding life. I believe also that the majority of people in the world want to see nations live together in peace and work for the common good for humankind.
The Advent message proclaims that the new reality enters abruptly and is shattering the old existence.
The writer of John’s Gospel reminds us:
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it. ( John 1: 5 )
As we travel together again to the manger to see the birth of the Christ child, may we be mindful that this trip is not without struggle, and vulnerability. May we also know that as we welcome the birth of new life into our lives that we will be forever changed.
May this Holy Season be blessed for all.
May it be so.
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