Word to the Wise
Sunday, December 1, 2024 - 1st Sunday of Advent - C
[Jer 33:14-16; 1 Thess 3:12-4:2; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36]The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah. In those days, in that time, I will raise up for David a just shoot; he shall do what is right and just in the land. [Jeremiah] May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. [1 Thessalonians] But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. [Luke]
The liturgical year begins today! Happy New Year! There's no question that it is "out of synch" with the western world's secular calendar in which the new year begins January 1st. It is probably "out of synch" with other calendars in other cultures as well, particularly oriental ones. There is a different "calendar" at work in liturgical celebration when we "transcend" time on our watches and secular calendars and become caught up in a kind of "sacred" calendar. The scriptures assigned today for the First Sunday of Advent in the new Sunday cycle - Cycle C - feature anticipation but it is an anticipation involving both the first and second "comings" of Christ. In short, we are challenged to look at the big picture of God's plan of salvation that occurs in human history but transcends it to give meaning to all of human history.
This can be difficult to do even with the help of Advent wreaths and Jesse Trees and a seemingly endless singing of "Come O Come, Emmanuel!" These can be drowned out by the sound of "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells!.." and "Santa Claus is coming to town!" and Black Friday and Cyber Monday and other cultural celebration of Christmas. Liturgical anticipation and optimism have to exist in a season that people in the counseling professions know is tough on many folks because of various kinds of losses and hurts. Under such conditions, it may be hard to lift our heads and stand erect! The challenge, faith-wise, is to enter into an "intentional Advent" in which not only Jesus' human birth is celebrated, but how that birth relates to ALL of time. The real importance of his birth is to be celebrated in Holy Week!! Our Christmas joy can be enlarged by recognizing that a birth in a stable in Palestine more than 2,000 years ago has significance for the millions of years and stars and human lives that have existed and continue to exist in God's calendar, not just ours. Advent is just the "Once upon a time..." to a much bigger story, but our job is to tell it over and over again, much like reading a favorite story to a child. AMEN