Fr. James Cronk“Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved” (Psalm 80).
The Advent season has dawned upon the Church as we begin a new liturgical year. These four weeks are intended to be a time of prayerful reflection as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our salvation in Bethlehem’s manger.
The color of the vestments during this time is purple, a rather somber hue. It serves as a tone-setter as we recall the ages before the coming of Christ when the world was enveloped in a kind of spiritual darkness.
Through his chosen people, the nation of Israel, God injected an element of hope into human history. He sent prophets to speak on his behalf as they proclaimed the coming of a day in which all humankind could rejoice. That hope for something better, something more permanent and satisfying, crystallized into a longing for a Messiah, a great Priest, Prophet and King who would be a beacon of light and life to all who drew near in faith and longing.
Advent challenges us to think of a world without Jesus. It helps us discover in things both large and small, signs that encourage us to live justly, to live with great expectation.
That’s very hard to do. Firstly, Christ has already come and we are the beneficiaries of his boundless self-sacrificing love for the human race. After all, he, the Son of God, became one of us and suffered humiliation and death in order to triumph over sin and remove the sting, the victory of death. We have been given that faith; we celebrate it in the Eucharist, our consciences are formed by his teaching. He is already a part of all we are and all we do. Moving backward into that former darkness seems unnecessary.
But even more, the rest of society, especially the commercial side of things, is celebrating Christmas in full fury. It’s like a great tsunami that comes sweeping through the land with a force that is irresistible: sales here, bigger sales tomorrow. We are urged to buy bigger and better than last year. There may be toys or video games our kids don’t have yet (unlikely). Give your spouse something he/she really wants: a new car, from a luxury line if possible. Deck the halls, plan parties, do some more shopping.
The message seems to be: just keep moving and spending and certainly don’t take time to think or pray. That would just get in the way. Then, too, it isn’t really the Christmas season; it’s the “holiday” season.
Is there any hope? Well, is there? The answer is a resounding “yes!” And it can be found in the quiet, in prayer, in taking time to set things straight.
Can you mediate for five minutes a day? Can you pick up the Bible and read a passage or two for five minutes a day? Can you find a charity you would like to support because it helps people who really could use a helping hand? Can you see through the darkness of our present age to perceive the Light which has come to lead us into something better, something more lasting and permanent? Will you find Christ this Christmas?
Fr. James Cronk is pastor of St. Owen Parish in Bloomfield Hills.
