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Brod Pio
Advent Message
The hope and promise of Advent
We begin another Advent season this year, with so much anxiety, in a world that is still reeling from the global credit crunch and major stock market declines that clearly has dampened consumer confidence everywhere. This has now brought serious concerns about the frenzied pace of our lives, thereby posing a threat to our spiritual health. Worse, the mood in these uncertain times seems to suggest a climate of fear -- fear of change, of failure, of the unknown future, of wounded trust. This is not to say that there are no issues to be considered. For one, and to many who have been hurt by these events, the financial crisis will not be resolved quickly, which now brings a lot of people face to face with the ultimate questions of our humanity more often. Still, there is hope amidst all these seeming pattern of cruel events which, at times, can help us lose the clarity we need to fully appreciate the glad tidings of Christmas, not just for Christians, but for everyone in this precious earth, whether Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, animists, and atheists.
But whether our days will be harder or not, they will go better when we approach Advent with childlike watchful waiting, not simply as a time of delight as we wait eagerly for Christmas and those anticipated gifts, or for happy gatherings of family and friends which, no doubt, we should all be grateful for. Far more than these, however, Advent is a time when we should bring to mind again when the divine power is revealed not in just the dramatic displays of God’s “awesome deeds” like winning the lotto, or surviving a plane crash, or getting healed of a dreadful disease; nor is it a time of waiting for the coming of the Christ child—that had already happened more than 2,000 years ago. Rather, it is a time of faithful waiting for the God who revealed himself in the immense love that comes in the form of a vulnerable child, the divine light breaking into human flesh – so bright that it was impossible at first to grasp its meaning. “In the beginning was the Word; the Word was in God’s presence and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of an only Son coming from the Father, filled with enduring love” (John 1:1-2, 14).
Thus, Advent is a time when we ourselves must become childlike in the way we treat our world and its problems; to see and celebrate the goodness around us, despite the threatening crises in our lives, with the wondrous awe of a small child. It is a time when we break our normal routine of any ceaseless motion, of a dozen jobs and other activities and move into heightened alert to how we can perceive more intensely the meaning of Emmanuel, “God with us.” Whatever our situation, we are called during this season to adopt a stance of faithful watching and waiting. For it is this kind of waiting of which Jesus later on had preached as the reign of God being within us -- if we would be willing to allow God to enter our lives in any way He pleases and at any moment – including now, as we also watch for the embodiment of His presence in each one we meet, particularly those who are most in need. And finally, this kind of waiting is also what the Gospel speaks about: our constant vigilance for the return of the Beloved who has entrusted everything to our care, “as worthy and faithful servants,” (Matthew 25:21; Mark 13:35-37; Luke 19:17) especially during these times.
Let each day then be a moment where we may watch and wonder how we will recognize the Coming of the Beloved One.
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