An Advent Heart

We spend so much of our life waiting. We wait in line to buy groceries or to go to the theater. We wait for buses and trains to arrive. When we start work in the morning, we wait for the day to end so we can go home. We wait in doctor’s offices, in government agencies or in restaurants. Just about every day we are waiting for someone to show up or something to happen.

This season of Advent is also about waiting but it is about a different kind of waiting. When we are waiting in line in a checkout counter, we’re hoping that the people in front of us will move quickly. There’s nothing we can do about it. All we can do is stand quietly and hope for the best. The type of waiting we do during Advent - and in our whole spiritual life - is a joyful expectation for God to fulfill His promises. It is not wishful thinking but hopeful vigilance. God has promised to lead us to salvation and we look forward to it with joyful hearts. Rather than the passive type of waiting we do when we are in the doctor’s office it is an active waiting because we are preparing our hearts to receive Jesus. We know He is coming soon and we want to be ready when He does.

This type of waiting is an acknowledgement that it is not our work but God’s work. In today’s second reading, Saint Paul writes to the Philippians: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” It is God who promises to save us. It is God who sent His Son to die and rise from the dead for us. It is God who is present among us in the Holy Spirit moving hearts to love of neighbor, inspiring us to accomplish every kind of good work and giving growth to the Church throughout the world.

Advent then is a time when we surrender our illusion that it is all up to us. It is a time when we remember that we are not in charge. It is not our agenda that needs to be implemented but God’s. And it will not unfold according to our schedule but according to God’s design.

When we cultivate an Advent heart - that is, a heart that waits for the Lord - we experience joy. As we look out on the world, we see much that is wrong. War, hunger, poverty, injustice, despair. It can be overwhelming. How could we possibly make a difference in a world that is so wounded and divided? If we were to rely only on our puny human efforts, we would quickly despair. However, as people of faith, we rely on God’s power. God’s grace is greater than any sin. Eternal life conquers physical death. Love triumphs over hate. Hope casts out despair. We have such a confidence because we wait on the Lord to act.

This was the attitude of the people of Israel. During their long history, they suffered mightily. They spent centuries as slaves. Many times their land was invaded and Jerusalem was devastated. Their people were slaughtered and sent into exile. Even after they were able to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple, they were occupied by foreign powers. In fact, Jesus lived at a time when Israel was occupied by the Roman Empire. The people of Israel lived under much oppression and misery.

However, they held fast to God’s promise of salvation. They knew they were powerless in the face of the empires that surrounded them and constantly threatened them. Yet they never stopped waiting on the Lord. They were convinced that God would act to save them. And they were willing to wait for the fulfillment of His promises. This promise is voiced beautifully by the prophet Baruch in today’s first reading: “Up, Jerusalem! Stand upon the heights; look to the east and see your children gathered from the east and the west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by God.” No matter what catastrophes the people of Israel suffered, they turned hopefully and joyfully to God knowing that He would save them in His time.

Like the people of Israel, we are a people who wait joyfully and expectantly for the fulfillment of God’s promises. We believe that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, has already come. We know that He came not to win a military or political victory but to lead us out of our slavery to sin and death. All the promises God made to the people of Israel are fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. However, we are still waiting. God has given the world time to acknowledge His Son through faith. One day, He will come in glory. There will be no mistaking it this time. On that day, the justice of God will be established forever. This is not wishful thinking but faith in the promise of God made in Jesus Christ. 

So we do not passively wait for God to get around to saving us. Rather we prepare actively for His arrival. We get our hearts ready to receive Him for we do not know the day or hour when His justice will be established. We want to be found with expectant faithful hearts. We want to be putting out love into practice so that we can share the joy of our Master.

In his book, Bread for the Journey, Henri Nouwen writes: “Waiting is essential to the spiritual life. But waiting as a disciple of Jesus is not an empty waiting. It is a waiting with a promise in our hearts that makes already present what we are waiting for….Waiting for God is an active, alert - yes, joyful - waiting. As we wait we remember him for whom we are waiting, and as we remember him we create a community ready to welcome him when he comes.”

An Advent heart looks to God for salvation and waits joyfully for the fulfillment of His promise. An Advent heart prepares the way of the Lord through repentance and good works. During these weeks leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ birth, let us ask God to bring His good work to fulfillment so that we can have hearts ready to welcome Him when we finally see Him face to face.