1st Sunday of advent 1 December 2024 Stages of growth
The season of Advent tends to be somewhat swamped by Christmas, as most Christmas events are celebrated before Christmas Day arrives.
We still have the Advent liturgy, however, and that keeps us in our place as far as needing to prepare for Christmas, and not just stumble into it.
The Advent readings take us the full range of time, from distant future to distant past, as we contemplate the infinite power and goodness of God.
All time is in God’s hands, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. We squeeze in there somewhere; small as we are we will not be overlooked.
The Advent season, coming over four weeks gives us a sense of progression from one stage to the next. Think of the Advent wreath as an accumulation of desire on our part, desiring the Lord more each week than the week before. And this of course can go all year, as we grow in our love of God from one time to the next.
As it has been observed, how can we be afraid to meet the Lord if we profess to love Him?
We do not usually fear those we love. So, it is put to us in today’s Gospel that we should go out to meet the Lord with our heads held high. To be able to do that we need to ask Him to draw us along, teaching us, forgiving us, generally maintaining us. He will be no stranger to us when we meet Him on the Last Day.
We are commanded to love God. That it needs to be a command is to help us get used to the idea. But when we love Him enough, we will not need to be told to love Him. The love will flow naturally. It will come with prayer and sacraments as we realize Gods progressive goodness to us.
God knows we cannot take in much at a time, so He reveals His plans gradually, stretching over thousands of years and many generations.
So, are we progressing in the love of God? We love what is loveable; once we break through initial reserve we will see much more.
We must do some basic things to help this along, such as attend Mass. Get the little things right and the big ones will follow.
We will shed earthly attachments as we do this. Thus, we de-clutter the way; we live simple and good lives, with all the various virtues emerging as needed. Make straight the way of the Lord.
Many see the Church and religion in general as a kind of drag. Not if we get into the right understanding. A lot of it may be unfamiliar but we get to like it.
Ask a child who plays in the back yard. Ask him if he would like to be still doing that in ten years’ time. He would probably say yes, but ask him in ten years and he would not want to go back.
And that in a nutshell is our situation. We don’t know the layout of where we are going, but we do know it is better than here; and we will be better people there than we are here.
The four weeks of Advent symbolise a continuous movement towards eternity.
May we never stop loving God or seeking more.
In the meantime, let this be the best Advent and best Christmas ever!
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