Advent and hope

Here we are once again in the season of Advent; this time of year is a whirlwind of emotions, traditions, and memories.  Once again we contemplate the profound mystery and miracle of Emmanuel, "God with us" (Mt 1:23).

We remember the first Advent when "the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light" (Isa 9:2).  All of creation lay in exile.  And then came God's promise of the messiah, He who would come back for us.

Before we get to the joyous day of Christmas we have Advent, a time of waiting in darkness.  We remember the state of the world, as expressed by the lyrics "O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear."

We do not remember Advent simply because of what happened two thousand years ago.  We remember the first Advent because we are currently waiting for the second Advent.  We too are a people walking in darkness.  Yes, Jesus has come into the world, but the fullness of Jesus' victory and God's redemption of all of creation is still in progress.  The world is still a dark place.  And so we reflect upon the first Advent as a means to illuminate our current state of waiting.

But we are not to wait idly.  We have the incredible honor of participating in God's work of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-19).  We are called to be like John the Baptist, who came before Jesus.  John was the one who came "to prepare the way of the Lord" (Isa 40:3-5).  And now it is we who are called by God to prepare the way of Jesus' second coming.  Until that great day we sacrifice to prepare the way, and we wait in darkness, but we have hope.

May we seek to be present this Advent as we contemplate both Advents past and future.