November 27, 2016 - First Sunday in Advent
We have again reached the threshold of a new liturgical year. The new liturgical year begins with the time of Advent, the preparation for Christmas. It's a time of transition – from something old towards something new. Transitions are always uncertain and demanding times – we just have to look at Washington D.C. and the transition that takes place there. Times where the old things are no longer valid and where the new things are not yet known. Transitions are giving you a feeling of uncertainty, of ambiguity, of hesitation. But we are not forced to remain passive; we can make use of times of transition so that they help us on our way, so that they bear fruit for our lives and for the lives of others. Advent is one of these times – it prepares a breakthrough from darkness to light, from emptiness to life. Those coming weeks are marked by liturgies with very beautiful biblical texts. They invite us to believe in God who is the lover of life, they invite us to celebrate God's promise of life for us. The first reading we just heard from the prophet Isaiah speaks of our longing for life, for “shalom”, for this harmony between the creation and its creator. How do we prepare ourselves for Christmas? In former centuries, people knew how to fill these times of preparation with fasting, praying and good deeds. We kind of have lost this link between the big feast and the inner preparation it requires. The outer, the commercial preparation took the place of the inner preparation. And we are in danger of living what the gospel describes (Matthew 24, 37-44). We are so busy with our own plans, we are trusting in our own efforts, so that we forget our link to God that penetrates our whole life. We are no longer vigilant for God's presence in our world, in our life. The gospel speaks with strong images: the image of being abandoned, of being left behind, of being dumped, and the image of being accepted, of being invited to take part in something big that God offers us. We long to be accepted, to be taken along. And the gospel says that it is not what we do that makes us accepted and loved, but that it is our inner attitude that makes us accepted and loved by God: an attitude marked by loving attentiveness, looking for God, feeling God in our life and in the lives of others. Advent is rich with symbols that can help us to find a new direction for our lives: - the symbolism of light in the darkness of winter. This light brings us comfort and warmth, a cozy atmosphere in which we can think and reflect like in front of an open fireplace; Advent is a time of waiting or better: a time of expecting, a time where we can interrupt our routines so as to be open for the new things that may come; Advent is a time where we can ask ourselves: what does it mean for my life that God becomes one of us? This may change my life and its structures; this may change my relation to God, to others, to myself; Advent has the symbol of the way – we are invited to make ourselves on the way. To make an effort to leave our comfort zones, to leave the well-trodden ways, to try new ways, new ways towards God, towards the others, towards ourselves. Advent is an opportunity – a chance to interrupt, to try something new, to risk something. This is the message of Advent for me: we can break our routine, we can break the circles, the often-vicious circles in which we find ourselves, we can find healing of our inner enslavement and dependence – if we open ourselves for what Advent prepares: the fact that God becomes one of us. The ground on which and upon which we live may be hardened and impermeable – Advent might open it, might offer the chance that this infertile ground offers new life again – for us and for those we love.
Fr. Wolfgang Felber SJ