Alberic Jacovone OSB
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YEAR B
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT - 27.11.05
Is 63,16-17.64,1.3-8; 1 Cor 1,3-9; Mk 13,33-37
Advent: a wind behind the sail...
Ad-vent:
a magical & loaded word. Every year, we start the Church’s worship with a 4- week period
called “Ad-vent”, a word worth exploring & unpacking again & again,
since in it, we discover the deepest energy & ‘spirit’ of our Christian
life. Ad-vent is from Latin
‘ventum’ which means both “wind” & “come”(as past participle of
‘Venire’ = to come). As a verb it conveys a multi-directional action: if the
action moves forward is ad-vent, if it moves together towards one another
is con-vent; if it’s
stopped beforehand is pre-vent, if it moves inside is in-vent,
& re-vent, if it is repeated. As a noun, the Latin
word “ventum” means also “wind”, & as such it carries
profound biblical ‘loading’, as both ‘vent & vent-ilation’ is
dealing with the action of the wind. John’s Gospel (3,8) tells the story of
Nicodemus, & there it says that being a disciple of Jesus is like being born
of water & Spirit, which in turn is something beyond the physical day-to-day
life. It’s like experiencing the mysterious action of the wind, which can be
destructive in a hurricane, but refreshing in a gentle breeze. John says: “the
wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound but you do not know where
it comes from or where it’s going. So it is with people born of water &
spirit”. The experience of “Advent” is not restricted only to the 4 weeks
of preparation for Christmas. It constitutes the essence of Christian life:
every day we wait for the Coming of the Lord. Every day we are asked to pray the
words of the Our Father: thy kingdom come (‘ad-veniat’ in Latin). From the
logic of Advent, we’ve derived other words which also are packed with biblical
energy & loading. Some of which are: ad-vancing - advent-ure - advent-urer -
eventuating, & the very action of vent-ilation.
Advent: a wind behind the sail. It’s not good enough to say that Advent is a time of passive patient waiting for the Lord’s coming. Mark is very astute in spelling out the kind of waiting we are to endure & experience. ‘Passive Waiting’ is boring, it is exhausting if the waiting is very long. It becomes exciting only when the arrival is imminent. Since none of us know the hour when the Lord comes, Mark’s Gospel suggests, we must be like ‘servants working steadily at the tasks allotted to us’. So, while all Christian life is a time of waiting & working & spreading the good news of God’s Kingdom on earth, the 4 weeks of Advent add a special longing & joyful expectation for the coming of the Lord. Truly then the spirit of Advent becomes like ‘a wind behind the sail’, as our lives -like tiny boats across the ocean, strive to reach the shore of eternity. Advent fills us with new energy: we prepare for Christ’s Birthday. We honour him who deigned to be born as one of us in Bethlehem; we welcome him joyfully in the midst of our families; we continue to welcome him in the events of our life, & look forward for our encounter with the Lord at the end of our life, at the end of times. May then Advent 2005 put us in touch with the deepest Christian religious energy: may it give joy, expectation & meaning to all ‘Advent traditions & customs’, such as the Wreath - Candles - Colours - Prayers - Calendars - the evocative “O” Antiphons from the Prophets of Old. May the spirit of Advent inspire the many wishes on cards & the preparations of our family get-togethers. May we never forget the poor, since Christ came as a poor among the poor. Advent is ideal for recalling prayerfully the tough ‘times of waiting’ in our life. For past & future ‘waitings’ let’s offer the Bible’s ‘waiting prayer’: Thy Kingdom come! - Maranatha, come Lord Jesus - & let’s sing the Hymn: O come, O come.... teach us, save us, free us, stay & walk with us.
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