Dear Folks,

Today we begin Advent, a season of expectant waiting. Waiting is not just stillness, but directed toward a future hope, and doing Advent well includes a keen focus on what we are hoping for, and how we are shaped by that hope. Our readings, of course, help us.

First, in Isaiah 2:1-5, we see a future in which God gathers people from everywhere. God is the great Gatherer. Jesus prayed in His great priestly prayer “I pray not only on behalf of these, but also for those who through their word will come to believe in me. May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, may they also be in us so that the word may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely on, and thus the world may know that you have sent me and that you have loved them even as you have loved me (John 17:20-23).” Do you want people to believe that Jesus is truly at work in the Church and that the Church is worth coming to? Jesus connects that to our being one. 

We see as people gather, their great desire is that God “may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” We call ourselves disciples, and “disciple” means “student.” To be a disciple is to be learning, that we may “walk in His ways,” that is, live according to His truth.  As they live this truth they will “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks,” because fighting has become obsolete. The great promise is peace: everyone will get along all the time. Ahhhh.

Romans 13:11-14 reminds us that to get to that peace, we must “throw off” all the things we do that are not in keeping with God’s truth. This time of expectation and hope is a time of repentance. By the power of God’s grace, we seek to live like people who want that peace, and that means not only avoiding doing harm, but actively and intentionally building peace (Matthew 5:9).

Because we are sinful, flawed people, we are going to offend each other. We are naturally more aware of how others offend us than how we offend other people (That great big splinter in your eye looks so much bigger than that little plank in my eye). When we have a gripe against someone, we are called to be healers, even if we are sure we are not at fault (though more often than not, we have contributed somehow and need to be open to that possibility). 

We go to the person first and talk, not to attack, but to bring mutual understanding and healing. If we can’t make progress, bringing one or two more into the conversation to help (Matthew 18:15-16). Talking about people behind their backs, saying things about them that we don’t say to them, spreading complains to create a climate of hostility against that person, is a terrible poison that does immeasurable harm in communities. We must all remind each other because gossip is a terrible plague in the church. We are always to encourage healing. Talking to each other is so much harder than talking about them, but that is exactly the sort of sacrifice to which Jesus calls us.

Matthew 24:37-44 reminds us that God will call us to account for how we answer this call, and we are always to be ready.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim