The Church tells us that Advent has two purposes. It is a time to get ready for the celebration of Christmas when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, when Jesus took on our human nature to teach us how to live as God’s children. It is also a season of waiting for the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time. During Advent, we look at our lives and ask if we are prepared and ready for Christ to come again. We wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior.
The readings on the four Sundays of Advent help us with our waiting. The First Sunday is about the end of the world. “Stay awake!” We do not know the day or the hour that Christ will come again. The Second and Third Sundays are about John the Baptist who tells us to “Prepare the way of the Lord.” The Fourth Sunday is about Mary, who has answered “Yes” to God who has chosen her to be the mother of Emmanuel (God with us).
Waiting is counter-cultural -- we want it now! Give me fast food and a shortcut method for everything. And yet, we wait all the time. Not all waiting is equal. Time sometimes passes slowly and sometimes more quickly. Consider these times of waiting:
waiting at a traffic light; waiting in line at the store, at the bank;
waiting for a table at the restaurant; waiting on hold on the phone while the Muzak plays;
waiting for the baby to be born; waiting for a loved one to call;
waiting for someone to say “I’m sorry;" waiting for a son or daughter to come home from war;
waiting for a job; waiting for test results;
waiting for a cure; waiting for someone to say, “I love you;”
waiting for the food shelves to be filled; waiting for an end to terrorism;
waiting for peace.
How do we prepare during and for this season? To welcome the presence of God into our hearts requires being able to get out of the frantic pace of the season and being able to center ourselves on God. The Church is calling us to prayer -- to silence before God -- to self-examination. If my life ended tomorrow, what would I be leaving undone? What would I regret? What relationships would be forever unsettled? What have I been putting off that I should do now?