Look back to the coming of Christ
Look now to his coming among us
Look forward to the final coming of Christ at the end of time.
You would never begin a good novel by reading the conclusion of the story and then work backward to the beginning. Doesn’t make sense. Knowing the end of the story would be a good “spoiler alert!”
Yet, as we find ourselves in the season of Advent it seems that is what we hear today in our Scriptures: Our passage from the Gospel of Luke presents to us a picture of powerful and upsetting change in the laws of nature, a time of redirection for people’s lives, and a vision of the “Son of Man” coming on a cloud with great glory as a majestic sign of victory. And in response before this happens, we are reminded about our posture of readiness to welcome Christ when he returns to the earth for the final judgement: to "Stand erect" - a kind of resurrection image.
Such a disturbing picture in a season that is pointing to a very different coming of Jesus – as a small human baby, hidden away in the obscure town of Bethlehem in ancient Israel, born of two poor young parents looking all the world as ordinary as the rest of the Jewish population.
So, we begin with the end – the second coming – and that leads us back to who this helpless baby truly is -The Lord, the Christ come to rescue us from dark powers who ruled the earth and held on tight to us. The Lord and Savior entered our human history undercover, like a stealth bomber that slips in unnoticed to declare a battle on the forces of evil and the end of the story - (spoiler alert) – he won and consequently – so did we because of him. Jesus establishes a new social order so the upheaval of the old to be replaced by the new is a powerful part of this story.
We would not understand the true meaning of the first which has happened without knowing about the One who came and is to come again. That he is the Lord God and one who desires to be the Lord of our lives.
This First Sunday of Advent also reminds us of the two Christmas seasons we are yearly confronted with: one with Christ and the other without him.
If the point of Christmas is simply an annual time of year when we feel good about each other, when we promote peace and good will between peoples, when we gather with family and friends to exchange gifts in beautiful wrappings, then we have only half the story. Why would we suddenly do this? What motivates us to this perspective in our behavior? Why at the end of December? Why do we need a season to do so, what about the rest of the year? A Christmas without Christ makes you wonder about the motivation, besides financial. Sadly, though, there are many who see nothing of the religious reasons behind the season and in that way deny its true origin and spirit.
While we decorate trees, houses, send cards either via the internet or in old fashioned “snail mail” and collect food and money to give to those less advantaged than ourselves is all good but without Christ, what’s the point of doing so in late December? Christmas without Christ can be placed anywhere at any time. We should be so generous and charitable all the time, yet our secular society suddenly wakes up to the real humanitarian benefits of generosity, charity, and kindness. But is that all Christmas is for us? Again, it is only half the story.
The motivation for all this goodness must and can only be a person – Christ Jesus himself. While non-Christians do celebrate Christmas as a festival of good will and perhaps increased financial benefit, we Christians must be different.
Yet, the person of Jesus is the real and only reason why we mark December 25th each year as the second greatest feast of our Christian faith – the Resurrection (Easter) being the greatest. Our gift giving reflects the giving of God to us in sending his Son for our salvation. While God’s generosity can never be equaled by us, we know that our thanksgiving and charity must continue far beyond the beauty of this unique time of year.
In this Sunday’s Gospel from Luke, we hear an image that I think may sum up what we can do during Advent to prepare and center ourselves. Jesus tells us: “Stand erect and raise your heads for your redemption is near at hand.” (Lk 21: 28).
Now picture that for a moment. It is a posture of vulnerability. Stand up straight with your arms beside your body then raise your head as if looking up to the sky - you’re defenseless and vulnerable. If someone was to attack you in that posture you would be harmed since your attention is focused on something, or perhaps, someone else. It is spoken in the context of Christ’s second coming. Pay attention and be ready to receive him when he comes. Stand “erect” and ready.
Advent, although an annual liturgical year with its own particular color of violet, its readings from the prophets of Jeremiah and Isaiah and figures of the Gospel story of John the Baptist and Mary, is essentially an attitude of the heart; a kind of posture we take before God: open, vulnerable, receptive and prepared to receive. So, we recall the coming of Jesus in history, his coming now and the future promise of his coming again. God intervened in a mighty and decisive way when he came in the person of Jesus to break the power of evil and death; he remains present in our midst through his word, the sacraments especially uniquely in the Holy Eucharist, and we have hope of his coming again when time and space will be ended.
So, let us adopt the attitude and the posture before God to “stand erect and raise your heads” in this season of grace. Our celebration of the Eucharist reminds us that although Christ has left our physical sight, he remains present to us under the signs of bread and wine to be our food to strengthen us on our daily journey. He remains very much present to us in the faith we share, in the kindness and compassion we show to one another, in the scriptures we read and the time we pray, and during Mass in the holy Eucharist substantially and in the person of the priest who acts sacramentally in his name and of course works in and through our sacramental life.
There is nothing wrong with feeling good at this time of year but what makes this time any different from another in that regard? Rather, WHO makes this time different and what difference does HE make for me? Faith not fear.
Grant to your faithful, we pray, almighty God,
the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ
with righteous deed at his coming,
so that, gathered at his right hand,
they may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
(Collect for Mass)
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