A New Year is Here!

Here we are at the start of a new liturgical year, a chance to begin again.  As we know, each Advent season we open ourselves to receiving Christ in a new or re-newed way.  We await Christ’s coming in a three-fold way:

·        The coming of Christ in history as a child born to newlywed parents in very challenging circumstances.  This is the coming we recall in each crèche we place in our homes and churches.

·        The coming of Christ in our hearts.  I would guess that this is where we put much of our “prayer” energy in this season; preparing our hearts, making space for the Christ child to be born anew.

·        And thirdly, we await Christ’s final coming to bring a new heaven and a new earth with the ills of our earthly life resolved and peace and reconciliation in every corner.

Today we enter this season with a fervent plea from the people of Isaiah’s time.

“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as we had not heard from of old.”

As I hear the desire for a “rending”, two images come to mind:

·        The first is a literal tearing of the sky so that God can enter our earthly reality, swooping in to make all things whole.  This is sort of a “superman” image.

·        The second harkens to those times in the scriptures when kings or rulers have “rent” their garments in acknowledgement of their sinfulness, begging God for forgiveness and hoping to thwart punishment or to begin anew.

Both of these images are helpful as we begin this season.  As we prepare for the coming of Christ in our hearts and in our world, we are asked to rend our garments and ask for forgiveness.  Clearing a space in our hearts for God involves a certain letting go of any hurt or grudge we have been hanging on to.  It means searching our hearts for the times we have sinned and to seek forgiveness.  This is a time of conversion, as the psalmist says:  Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. 

As I think of the first image; a hole being creating in the sky so that God can enter, I remember that this has already happened in history and is happening today.  We pray the prayer of anamnesis; that act of remembering each time we come to the Eucharistic table.  As we gather at this table and all the tables of our lives, be they a kitchen or dining room or even the coffee tables in our living rooms, we participate in a re-membering; a time outside of time.  We gather in real time, with friends, community members or family and in doing so, we also gather with all who have gone before us and those yet to be born.  This is the active remembering of the Christmas event, when God did rend the heaven and acting out of a selfless and most humble love, became human.  God has come to bring peace, harmony and wholeness to our world and comes over and over again.

If you are like me, you aren’t really there yet.  There is too much suffering, violence, pain, division and confusion in our world and in our lives.  It is sometimes hard for me to see that God has come and that God is HERE.  As I watch the news in the evening, I pray God to swoop in and save us.  As I do my work and spend time with many of you, I beg God to arrive to bring healing of bodies, minds, spirits and relationships.  As I maneuver through family situations of anger, grief and division, I weep in distress, wondering where God is. 

But the second reading and Gospel remind us who God is and anchor us in our faith, encouraging us to trust in the midst of all the struggle that surrounds us.  St. Paul encourages the people of Corinth by helping them remember that they have indeed received every spiritual gift necessary for their living as the wait for the coming of Christ.  Coupled with the gifts they possess, and as Paul reminds them,  the unequivocal reality of God’s faithfulness both in the call and in continued presence. 

Be watchful and may God not arrive and find you sleeping!  This is the clear message given us by Mark. 

·        This weekend I spent some time with my Mom, running errands and as we went into the restaurant for dinner, she lifted her eyes to the sky and marveled at the gorgeous sunset - she was awake and alert to the presence of God.

We too are admonished to stay alert and awake to the presence of God.  As we begin this season of waiting and anticipation, we Christians are called to clear a space for God to come anew, acknowledging our sinfulness, begging God for forgiveness and inviting God in.  God is waiting on us.  God is already here, all we need do is be alert and watchful, attentive to the presence of God.  Let us help one another to see and to know so that we might always be ready.