Deep down we all well know that Advent isn’t about commercialism; it isn’t about non-stop busyness. Advent is about our spirituality. It is about being in touch with our spiritual center -- God is with us. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” The meaning of Emmanuel is God is with us. May we deeply value the spirituality of this holy season. May it a time of spiritual preparation -- to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. May the Advent wreath be a symbol of hope as we await for the light of Christ to overcome the darkness of our world. Pope Francis has given us a most challenging Advent message. If we live in a world of war, and we see that the only solution to our problems to take us arms and defeat the enemy, Pope Francis then says our Christmas is a charade. Christmas isn’t about military might as a solution to our problems. Christmas is about embracing the message of the Prince of Peace. Somehow we have to reconcile our political life as Americans with our spiritual life as the disciples of Jesus. May we embrace the dominant message of Jesus of bringing the forgiving love of God to a sinful people. In this Advent, we need to reflect on the meaning of our prayer for the coming of the Prince of Peace among us. In today’s Scriptures, the prophet Jeremiah proclaims to a discouraged people that “the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel.” The prophet Jeremiah is a prophet of hope and mercy that God’s promises will be fulfilled. The apostle Paul writes: “Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” Paul’s words are the living word of God that are spoken to us as well. The Advent message of hope may be more difficult to see in today’s Gospel for it contains a stern warning to us. But the core message of Advent remains: watch and wait for God, not with a sense of fear, but rather with joyful hope. Yes, the sea of our heart sometimes is turbulent, fearful and anxious. Even in these times, God is with us in the present moment and in every day of our future. We are and will always be the recipients of the merciful love of Jesus.To wait for the Lord who comes means to wait and watch so that the Word of Love enters inside us and focuses every day of our lives. May this Jubilee Year of Mercy be our time to more fully experience the merciful love of Jesus in our lives. If we know Jesus in our hearts, we will readily witness to the Lord’s mercy in the lives of others.
In the first Scripture reading from the book of Kings, the prophet Elijah was asking the poor widow of Zarephath first for a cup of water and then for a bit of bread. If we are to understand the widow of Zarephath, we need to notice something about her that has not been probably part of our experience: she is starving. Yet when a stranger asked her for something to eat, she looked him in the face – and did not say no. Would we have the compassion of the widow of Zarephath who was worried not just about herself but about her son a well. She gave to the stranger the food she had saved for her son. There is such an important lesson here. To give from our livelihood is not only an act of generosity; it is also an act of trust in God. We can give from our need only if we trust that God will provide for us. Jesus himself demonstrates the ultimate act of generosity and trust in God as he gives his life for us on the cross. And as the Scripture tells us, the widow was rewarded for that trust in God: “her jar flour did not run dry.” Have we challenged ourselves to give generously as the widows in today’s scriptures? A widow’s life can be very difficult. They are grieving. Financially they are suffering significant hardships. And yet. The widows we meet today at instead of hoarding their assets for themselves, and holding on to whatever they could. They surrendered. They gave of themselves, however they could, whatever they could. A little cup of flour, a couple of small coins. They held nothing back. And they were blessed. The Scriptures give us a powerful message about grieving. “Blessed are they who mourn; for they will be comforted.” Jesus and his mother Mary have taught us how to grieve. The great lesson in grieving is to hold nothing back, to continue to serve, and most importantly, continue to trust in God. The poor have much to teach us. We are to give and to give generously. When we give from our need, we simply trust in God’s unending love. The way through loss and death is to love.
Their Beatitudes have an inner blessedness, an inner joy that comes from trusting and rejoicing and being grateful for God’s unending love for us. In the beatitudes, we see the heart of God. Saints are people who are aware of God’s great love for them, and are witnesses of the love of Jesus in the world. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who know that stand in need of God’s redeeming love." Our wealth doesn’t come from are material assets; our real wealth comes from in God’s healing love for us. To tap into God’s unending love for us, we need first to recognize our need for God’s grace. The greatest spiritual deception of all is thinking we are self-righteousness; that our spiritual will power is the source of our holiness. That is the biggest illusion of all. The spiritual life begins with our need for God. Left to ourselves, we are poor; we stand in need. The grace of this situation is that it can lead us to trust not in ourselves, but to trust in God. The whole story reveals that the disciples had to experience their own need for mercy so that they would be prepared to preach it to others. Pope Francis is calling the whole church to a conversion that comes from our poverty of spirit. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those whose wealth comes from their trust in the merciful love of Jesus. Our mercy to each other comes from God’s mercy to us. May we receive the grace of experiencing more fully of God’s merciful love that is extended to us. Blessed are they who rely on God for every breath they take.