“Light one candle for hope, one bright candle for hope … ”
The notes ring out, sweet and clear as we light the second of two candles on our dining table Advent wreath. For Christians whose rhythms are matched to the liturgical calendar, it is a new year, bright with hope. Everything sparkles with promise: the promise of Christmas. It’s right around the corner.
No, really. This year, the time truly is short. It’s about as short as Advent can be. What does that mean for those of us who are waiting? In terms of the workaday world, it means there are fewer shopping days until Christmas. In terms of the liturgical calendar, it means there are fewer days until we celebrate the solemnity of Jesus’ birth. In terms of the second coming of the Son of God, it means that we are reminded by the short season of this year’s Advent that the time is coming, and we might be surprised by how short the wait really is.
“Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come,” Jesus warns us all to be watchful. (Mk 13-33) He doesn’t want us to be caught by surprise. Remember though, he uttered these words 2,000 years ago. People have been waiting a long time. We might have him in our midst in just a few short weeks. Or we might need to be really patient, as patient as the generations who have lived — and died — waiting in hope before us.
What will we do while being patient? Most of us will shop and wrap and bake and busy ourselves with countless to-do lists in order to make merry for the people we love.
But what will we do with our souls while waiting for the master to arrive?
Here is an idea that stretches beyond Christmas, with a nod to St. Paul: Let us be patient in our wait, and let us also be appreciative. Thank God for the gift of faith, for the grace of knowing him. And when the work of this wait wearies, let the understanding that grace is ours be a sustaining strength. (1 Cor 1:3-9)
While we wait for the coming of the Lord, keep believing. With God’s grace, Christ makes us strong in our faith until the end. While we keep vigil, the lamp of faith stays lit because God sustains our faith. Even if you struggle with doubt, even if you wrestle with wondering if it’s all true, that glimmer of light flickers still (that’s why it’s a wrestle), and if you ask him, he gives the flame more oxygen. God animates perseverance.
In a twist of irony worthy of Dickens, 21st-century Decembers are quite possibly the most difficult time of the year for us to persevere in hope and faith. When the secularism of the season seeps into our souls and the wait starts to feel like work and worry, it’s easy to be discouraged. What is all this bustle about? Why are we frenzied in our pursuit of Hallmark Channel movie moments? Why does Christmas feel like the pursuit of perfect presents? This wait isn’t really about looking around corners for magical moments when the gentle snow falls on exquisitely wrapped gifts and everyone has two mittens that match and no one’s nose runs.
It’s about making room in your heart for your God, so that he overcomes you with himself.
It’s about a God who humbled himself to be born in a stable, to live a life of service, and to die bloodied on a cross in order to rescue us from our selfish sinfulness. The wait is about a God who perseveres in hope for our salvation.
Because God is faithful.
When God calls us into a relationship, he causes us to remain in him. In this moment, we sit in the presence of God in his Word. He speaks into our souls. The mere fact that that is happening assures us that he wants us. We are called by him into an eternal relationship with him, and he will keep us there, safely, if we choose to nurture that faith. Slow down and seek him.
God gives us the freedom to keep responding to him, especially in the busyness of this season. There is hope in his call. Further, there is the assurance that while we are on the watch we will not be lacking for any spiritual gift. He will provide. Just stay awake. Be alert and cooperate with the grace that he assures. God is faithful, and you are called by him to become more and more like him.
Beginning today. There’s still plenty of time.
Foss, whose website is takeupandread.org, writes from Connecticut.
