The Days are Coming

The readings for this first Sunday of Advent follow on the apocalyptic tone of the liturgy for the Solemnity of Christ the King last weekend. Jeremiah and Jesus speak of horrific experiences; Jesus says that people will ‘faint from fear and foreboding of what is to come’. Other translations say people will die of fright.

We may have personally experienced, or know people who have had experiences that were highly traumatic or distressing. Fear, foreboding, depression, helplessness, hopelessness or a feeling of deception are normal reactions to those kinds of experiences. We may even fall back on the promises in Jeremiah (and implied in Jesus’ words) that God will come to save us. Unfortunately, the God we believe in does not intervene physically in the natural order of the world or in the actions of individuals. If we rely on that premise, we are sure to be disappointed, disillusioned, even tempted to give up on God, to abandon our faith. Even Jesus on the cross seemed to question God’s promises when he asked why he had been forsaken. The liturgy today invites us to broaden our concept of God and God’s involvement in history.

Last Sunday’s liturgy reminded us that the God of justice will reign on the earth. Jeremiah reiterates the promise and Jesus urges us to trust, standing with our heads held high when confronted with these cataclysmic events. So, if God is not going to break the laws of nature, how will the God of justice reign on the earth? We perhaps need to reverse our way of thinking; rather than us waiting for God to act we should consider that God is waiting for us. God is waiting for us to exercise our faith and put into practice the teaching of Jesus, as Paul reminds us in the second reading. Jesus asks us, as his disciples, to put God’s love into action, to build the kingdom of God here in our world. When we speak out against evil, when we act in ways that counteract racism, sexism, all forms of discrimination, when we reach out to those who are suffering, alone, afraid, outcast, then we are making present God’s love, which transforms the world.

As we begin this Advent season, we are challenged to ask ourselves: how will I allow grace to open and strengthen my heart and mind? How will I open my eyes to perceive the day of the Lord, to know that my words and actions make that day present in our world now?

By Richard Beaudette, OMI