Alberic Jacovone OSB
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YEAR C
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT - 3.12.06
Jer 33,14-16; 1 Th 3,12-4,2; Lk 21,25-8.34-6
Let’s go joyfully to the Lord
Advent,
can be lost in its trappings. Advent starts today, & it opens the Church’s year
with its unique imagery, legend, poetics & longing. It invites us to
enter a peculiar logic, prepare the heart - anticipate a great encounter, long
for the need of God’s coming in our life & to enjoy, in dream-time wonder,
the intimacy with the Lord. Advent goes way beyond the glimmering lights that
have come to glut the birth of Christ. Big-Business is ready for us: for months
huge stocks of Christmas merchandise has been piled up: with decorations -
presents - cards - greetings - lights - hampers. Now is the time to come &
get it & spend big, soothed by the evocative music of Carols, ‘Jingle
Bells’ & the ‘Ho! Ho!’ of Santa. Church symbols for this time also
come handy: Advent Wreaths with 4 (or 5) candles, the colour purple, nativity
sets, (dead plastic cribs & fully alive ones, staged by Kids in Church;
& filling our Church walls, we have: banners, placards & posters. For
all such ‘externals’, thank you one & all. It’s takes time &
commitment! My hope is that these
old-fashioned, deja-vu, artistically poor, mass-produced symbols will manage to
enhance personal prayer, meditation & dream-time. May the mystery &
wonder, the joy & beauty of our Lord’s coming fill our minds & hearts,
throughout this coming year. We are fortunate to reflect on Luke’s Gospel. He
is a master story teller, choreographer & stage presenter. He goes to great
lengths to describe the geographical & political world in which Jesus was
born, to show that God enters our history not as a vague notion but for real, in
a concrete event, place & time. Thus he is able to lift our inner self,
admire true poetry & beauty, stretch our sense of wonder way beyond our
benign, childish symbols.
Advent
means: come, Lord Jesus. The last words of our New Testament are an Aramaic cry of longing:
‘Marana ta’ = Lord, come!. Advent is a rich Latin word: it picks up an
ancient longing, for Jesus to come & satisfy our unquenchable thirst for
God, & it sits at the centre of Christian prayer, as in the ‘Our Father’
we cry: Thy Kingdom Come! (Latin: ad-veniat). Advent & Adventure are
concepts packed with emotions, imagination & energy. They detail a vision of
what it will be like, as we hurry forward to meet the Lord who is himself on his
way towards us. Advent has little to do with an Advent-Wreath & purple
candles. Rather, it gives a visual setting to a reality which is always
happening, as we welcome the Lord in our daily situations & tribulations. We
of course, recognize many ‘comings of God’: we have His coming in humility
at Bethlehem, His coming in glory at the end of time, we come to meet the Lord
at the end of this life, & even now we meet him in word & sacrament, in
prayer & in many privileged events. The attitude that Advent projects, is
that we wait in patience if the Lord delays, & keep longing for his coming, knowing that without God we are
lifeless & worthless; we even destroy one another. Advent tells us to stand
erect, be brave & persevere: only thus, we precipitate -if it were possible- the fullness of his coming. Advent
asks me a probing question: right now, how deeply is the Lord enriching my
life... what intimacy does my prayer provide, if today was my last on earth? So
Advent is an experience of the Lord, way beyond a vague reminder to put Christ
back into Christmas: In Advent this year, let us sing for our Beloved Dead, the
‘Song of Commendation’: May the choirs of Angels come to meet you..’ and
let us meditate on the 9 ‘O come...’ Antiphons, for the 9 days before
Christmas. As we strain through tensions towards new horizons into the future of
God, let us put in our life a spirit, that anticipates risks & dangers,
makes us trust in our God-given leadership, courage & daring, as -with God- we face any
uncertain outcomes.
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