Advent is a time of anticipation and a time of remembering. The scriptural readings for the first two Sundays in Advent point to the second coming of Jesus. The final two Sundays in Advent, recall the long wait of Israel for the promised Messiah. During Advent, we, as Christians, ironically find ourselves in the posture of Israel, awaiting the first coming of the Messiah. This is implied in much of the liturgical music for Advent. As we sing, “O come, O come Emanuel”, or, “O Come Divine Messiah”, or, “People Look East”, it is not the first coming of Jesus about which we sing. What we express in our Advent chants and hymns is our longing for Jesus to come to us again, just as Jesus came to the people of Israel over 2000 years ago.
The key word is the word “longing”. Do we really long for Jesus to come again? How is our longing expressed in what we say, and what we do in our preparation for Christmas? Longing for Jesus is more than just dazzling light displays set up around our homes, the smell of Christmas cookies and other treats baking in the oven, and an LED lit tree set up somewhere in our home. Longing for Jesus is more than just Christmas parties at work and within families. Looking around our Christmas decorated homes, what is in the greatest place of prominence? Is the Christmas Creche in that place of prominence or is it hidden under the boughs of the Christmas tree?
“The Word become flesh and dwelt among us” is the best definition of the word, Incarnation. Jesus, the one through whom all was created, took on our mortal form and became one with us. May we, in turn, incarnate the presence of Christ in what we say, in our relationships with others, and in those moments of silent prayer when we speak and listen to Jesus dwelling within us.
