December 8
Second Sunday of Advent
“The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”
Readings
Reflection
So often we conger up an idea that our religion is otherworldly. You may wonder what I mean by this. We can easily imagine God and the workings of God as something untouchable, which happened in another place and time, almost as if it happened in some sort of dreamscape. How wrong we would be if we entertain those thoughts. How limiting that would be of God!
Quite the contrary, the Advent of God’s coming into the world happened within the framework of world history. To prove this point we may recall that the first reading locates God’s salvific action in the restoration of Jerusalem, or we may consider the ministry of John, the son of Zachariah, within a particular period of world history. The people that were touched by these examples were real people, living everyday lives in real locations that we can still visit today.
Our appreciation of the season of Advent should call us to look forward to a transformational time where God will be with us as promised. Advent foreshadows a time of salvation, not simply a remembrance of the birth of Jesus. Celebrating the birth of the Savior is important in our faith and a necessary first step in coming to know who Jesus is. As faithful Christians we must realize the celebration of the birth of Jesus alone, without acknowledging the events that followed his birth, as well as the events that are still to come, all culminate in salvation history, a history that we live in today.
History is real, and we are a part of it. What contribution can we make to the faith that Christ instilled in us some 2000 years ago? What will people remember and celebrate about our time and faith in Jesus as they celebrate an Advent season in years to come?
Peace,
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