For many of us, this pandemic has felt like a long, endless winter night. I am reminded of the Chronicles of Narnia, where the White Witch ruled over a land where "it was always winter but never Christmas." But when Aslan came, spring returned to Narnia. So too, for Mary and Joseph, the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem was a hard, cold journey
There was a slight, yet brisk breeze blowing; it was as if the breeze were guiding me to the Temple. The sun was barely peeking over the surrounding hills as I walked into the courtyard. I started pacing, and as I turned around, a flickering light caught my eye. It seemed to be coming from one of the Temple rooms. It may have been a candle, but I couldn’t stop looking at its brilliance pouring from the window.
A lot is stirring in today’s readings, and it’s all being stirred by the Holy Spirit. How in touch am I with the Holy Spirit? Where in my life do I feel the Spirit moving, calling me? If I were to “testify to the light” as John the Baptist is called to do, what in my life would I point to it? If others asked “Who are you?” how would I respond? Who am I in terms of my relationship to others? In terms of my relationship to Jesus?
Traditionally, the four candles on the Advent wreath, symbolizing the four weeks of our preparation for the coming of Christ, invite us to practice four virtues: hope, peace, joy, and love. Last week’s call to “HOPE” is enhanced this week by an invitation to live in “PEACE”. As we heard last Sunday, hope is much more than “optimism”. Hope is the conviction that even when the night seems dark and cold, the dawn is near. Hope means we are not alone: God will never abandon us. God hears and answers us.
In the first reading of this First Sunday of Advent, Isaiah proposes a helpful image to advance the mood of this season: the story of the potter and the clay. The idea of the story is already in motion in the biblical world long before Isaiah’s prophecy.
The writer of Genesis employs it in the story of Creation, as God molds the first person from the dust of the earth. Jeremiah uses the image effectively many times, presenting vessels in the making and, yes, in the smashing.
Then Job sagely writes, “the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.”
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