The joy of waiting

I experienced my first entire season of Advent this year. What a fantastic experience. Who doesn't like the excitement behind anticipation? Don’t answer that. Let’s pretend you are waiting for a gift, the greatest gift in the world. You can see the package, it’s wrapped with a large bow. Is the anticipation a little better now? The longer the period of time that we wait, knowing that something great is on its way, the greater the joy and adrenaline when it arrives.

First Reading: Isaiah 9:1-6

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light...”

“For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.”

Imagine walking in darkness on an empty road through a long night. There are no street lights. You have no flashlight. You can't cheat and use the light on your phone. You are just walking in darkness, but on the horizon, you see a small speck of light. The longer you walk the closer and brighter the light gets. You can only guess what the light must be but it doesn't matter because the light cuts through the darkness. It is something different that what you are surrounded by. You can fix your gaze on it and it gives you a destination that is distinguished from the nothingness around you.

As a kid, I would sometimes go into my closet with the light off, close the door, and sit in darkness. After a few minutes, my body would begin to tense from the uneasiness of the darkness. My eyes would strain for light. My brain would create a visual stimulus to try and compensate for the lack of information in my surroundings. It would try to create light from nothing in an effort to calm the anxiety of having no light. My eyes are open but I cannot see. I remember after five minutes or so, feeling growing panic. I wanted the darkness to end. It was uncomfortable. I didn't know what was going to happen. I turned in the direction of the closet door and on the ground, I could see a small sliver of light creeping under the door frame. My brain pounced on the tiny light like a starving lion to a lamb chop. A wave of peace and calm came as I realized that I could open the door and step into the light. Just the notion of light created hope and peace in my body and mind.

The light is something different. The light is hope. The light is freedom. The oppression of darkness fades with the light.

The people of Israel were promised a light. The world received one. For thousands of years, people existed without light. There was only hope of dawn. There was a small shred of anticipation that we would ever have light again. The world without God in it. The world without Christ was dark.

2000 years ago God entered the world as the Son of Man. He came as the prince of peace. He stepped through the veil and defeated death and reconnected the severed bonds of Adam. We know now the knowledge of God in the world.

But God's desire is not that we know of Him, but that we know Him intimately. That's why Jesus came, so we would know the Father, we would be reconciled to Him and in turn, we would reconcile with each other. Without loving the Father, we cannot love one another. We will never be at peace with the world and anyone in it until we have found peace with the Father. This could not be possible without the Son.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 96: 1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13

Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice;

let the sea and what fills it resound;

let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!

Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.

It's crazy to me when I think about the magnitude of our salvation in Christ. Everything in Advent describes everything in creation in full anticipation of the arrival of Christ. All of creation pulsates with joy and reverence at the creator stepping into His creation. The heavens are rejoicing, the earth rejoices. All that fills the sea rejoices. Every animal on the plains of the earth will rejoice. The trees will rejoice. The rocks cry out. Every creation will welcome God except one. Man. The one creation that God comes to save. The creation that He creates in His own image.

The creation of Man will cling to the darkness, it will reject the creator. Man will persecute and put God to death, yet He still comes for us. The culmination of the greatest love story ever told, the murdered lover uses His death to save us. God uses this to bring redemption to Man.

Second Reading: Titus 2:11-14

“The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires...”

“as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.”

The Advent season is all about rejoicing and reflecting on His wondrous love. We use what we know about Christ to prepare for his second return which will be even greater than the first. We are living in the dawn. We have the choice to walk into the light. Jesus gives us the ability to leave the darkness of the world and cling to Him. Christmas is only a part of the Advent story. It is not the completion. We get a sneak peek at the world with Christ in it. We see creation as it was intended. We get to see the full image of God in the Son of Man.

Gospel: Luke 2:1-14

“The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them...”

“The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

God enters His creation as a small vulnerable baby. He announces the birth to lowly shepherds. He could not enter the world in any greater form of humility.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit..." (Matt 5:3) "Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matt 25:40)

Jesus is all about the poor, the broken, the sick, the children, and the weak. The light begins as a small dot in the distance. The light is for everyone. This event in time, this dawn is for you. If you were the only person on earth, Jesus would have come and died for you in the same manner. That's pretty amazing.

All of this is wrapped up in the anticipation we celebrate during Advent. You are not just random existence with no cause. You were created in the image of the creator and with a purpose. I encourage you to look ahead to the light. Wherever you are in this journey to find the truth, look into the light with anticipation that all darkness will end and we will find peace in the arms of the Father.