This night of mystery had its origins on the darkened hills of Judea. In a manger, in a town far away, among shepherds, and in the dark of night, Jesus is born. Our salvation is dawned with the messiness, poverty, and weakness of ordinary human life. This hardly seems a very auspicious beginning to the dawn of salvation. Now as we fast-forward to 2014, the great privilege that was mine was to gather with a super-abundance of our parish children on these altar steps at the 2:00 and the 4:00 liturgies and to share with them the Christmas Gospel that tells the story of the birth of Jesus. I tell you with every ounce of faith conviction that I have that God continues to come to us in the birth of these beautiful children who were gathered around me. Now as we fast-forward to 2014, the great privilege that was mine was to gather with a super-abundance of our parish children on these altar steps at the 2:00 and the 4:00 liturgies and to share with them the Christmas Gospel that tells the story of the birth of Jesus. I tell you with every ounce of faith conviction that I have that God continues to come to us in the birth of these beautiful children who were gathered around me. The mystery of Christmas is when we can connect the story of our lives with the story of Christmas. The Christmas message is the story of God’s unconditional love for us. As his disciples we are called to fill this world with many other stories that mirror and give witness to God’s love for us. That is the meaning and wonder of the Incarnation. May you often connect the story of Christmas with the story of your life. We do that when we know God is with us. Indeed the best gifts of life are unwrapped. They are found in the people you love and in the presence of Jesus in your life. Christmas is not simply about Mary and Joseph and the baby. It is about God becoming part of our daily struggle, transforming the world through us. How many people in our world today experience “no room in the inn” because of race, color, religion, gender, sexuality? The message of Christmas is that Jesus comes for people in dark places. The real, lasting and deep joy of Christmas is that light shines in the darkness. In the inn of our own hearts, there is an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. We are missioned to be the keepers of the mystery of Christmas – God is with us. We give birth to Christ when we allow the light that is within us to extend to our family, and our parish family, and to all of creation.
In 10 words, St. Paul expresses the message of Gaudete Sunday on the third Sunday of Advent: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks.” Our prayer is to express the joy and the gratitude that is in our hearts as we prepare for the birth of the Savior. “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks.” The way Pope Francis expresses the Advent joy is with one of his favorite expressions: “Evangelizers must never look like they have just come back from a funeral.” In this Advent season, we prepare with much hope and joy in our hearts. Mindful of the words of the Baptist that we can fail to recognize the holy one who is in our midst, we seek to root our trust in a God who is always faithful. What expectations help you to recognize Christ’s presence? What expectations blind you to recognizing Christ? Expectations can blind us. We might be so intent on something that we miss the gem right before us. John preached a baptism of repentance; may we preach by the example of our lives a baptism of healing and forgiveness and love. When we listen with patience and with much love to another, we are affirming that God-given dignity. We are affirming that indeed the Spirit of God dwells in those we reach out to. When the question is asked of us that was asked of John in the Gospel: “Who are you?” May we witness to the reality that the Spirit of God is upon us. When we as the faith community of St. Joseph’s are asked: “Who are you?” May we respond with the words of St. Paul that describe our way of life: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks.”
In the Gospel for this First Sunday of Advent, we are given the directive: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” Even though we do not know the day or the hour, the clear message for us is to be watchful and alert. The Lord comes to us in ways we may least expect. The truth is all of our life is salvation history. All time is sacred. The Lord comes to us in the experiences and the relationships of life. To be fully alert would be to recognize the hand of God in all that is during the Advent season. We do not live in these two worlds. We live in one world, and the Lord is in our world continuously. The Advent spirituality the Lord calls us is different from a dualistic approach to Christmas. The whole Advent season is part of our salvation history, part of our sacred time. Our Advent prayer helps us to be aware and to alert so that we recognize God is present to us every moment of the day. Prayerfulness helps to be aware of what is – how God is present to us in all the moments of the days. We certainly don’t want to be in such a rush during this Advent–Christmas season that we are not watchful and alert to God in our lives. Advent spirituality can see in the dark and can find hope in dark places. If we really believe that all time is sacred, we can even embrace our mistakes, our crosses, the dark places of life where we experience the brokenness of depression, the brokenness of relationships, the brokenness of the losses and setbacks in life. Yes, God is present to us in the darkness of life. Advent spirituality can see in the dark because we believe in the God of all hopefulness, the God of all joy. Every moment is this Advent season is a sacred time for us to be aware of how God is revealing His love to us.