Preferring Nothing to Christ

QUICKLY

I have always loved the urgency in Luke’s story of the Visitation; ‘Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country’. By all accounts Mary’s journey to Elizabeth won’t have been easy. That Mary loses no time in making her journey speaks of the power of God’s promise in her life. Mary’s life rests on three foundation stones: God’s Word (Torah), God’s Service (Prayer), God’s Work (Kindness). There is a sense in which all three of these compel her to make the journey.

Whatever we imagine the terrain to be like, the journey was long and not without danger for someone Mary’s age. Luke gives us none of the details of the journey, focusing instead on the joy of Mary and Elizabeth meeting and recognising each other as vessels of God’s will.

Urgency can be a difficult thing to navigate in our daily lives. So many things can make an urgent call on hearts and minds. The urgency of love is a different matter. We probably all have in our lives people for whom we would drop everything and go ask quickly as we could.

Which things compel you?
Where is God calling you to go quickly this Advent?

(Luke 1:39-45, Dec 21st)

PREPARE

PREPARE in the desert a way for the Lord.
Make a straight highway for our God across the desert.

Isaiah imagines for the Israelites a joyous return from Exile where their fortunes are to radically changed. In order that they waste no time the prophet tells them to prepare a straight highway. They have waited long enough in Exile, now they are to travel as quickly as possible from Babylon to Jerusalem. A straight road will help them do this.

Mark the Evangelist takes this text and puts it in the mouth of John the Baptist. The sense of urgency increases as John the Baptist calls for repentance, a change of heart.

When we hear this text in Advent it comes to us with all the urgency experienced by our ancestors in the faith. Amidst the physical preparations for Christmas we are invited to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming. The liturgy can help us with this. It constantly calls us back to the things of the heart. The prophets call us to see the world as God sees it and to stand ready and prepared for when He comes.

What helps you to prepare and be ready in Advent?

(Isaiah 40:1-11, Tuesday, Week Two)

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will OVERSHADOW you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

When the Moses and the Israelites wander in the wilderness they are re-assured by God’s presence, or glory, in the form of cloud by day and fire by night. It’s only Moses who is bold enough to ask to see God’s glory. It’s this glory which will fill the desert Tabernacle which the Israelites carry with them wherever they go. When the Temple is finally built, the Holy of Holies is the guaranteed dwelling place of God. In Judaism this presence is known as ‘shekinah’.

When we come to the story of the Annunciation and the angel’s words to Mary our biblical imaginations can draw upon the Old Testament thought world. That Mary will be ‘overshadowed’ by God’s power is a figurative way of saying that God will intervene directly. All of God’s power, presence, light, glory and love will be contained in Mary’s womb. This is a breathtaking promise. Mary is now the guaranteed dwelling place of God.

Needing to be re-assured of God’s presence is an experience in which we all share. People, places and rituals can give us a sense that God really is overshadowing our lives. Advent invites us deeper into that mystery.

Where have you felt God’s overshadowing presence this Advent?

(Luke 1:26-38, Dec 20th)

‘In the countryside close by there were shepherds out in the fields keeping guard over their sheep during the watches of the NIGHT.‘

Watching through the night is something which many of us will find ourselves doing at some point in our lives. We might be awaiting a birth or sitting at the bedside of a loved one in their last illness. There’s something about the darkness and the stillness that gives this time a very different quality to daytime. There’s an in built vulnerability, but also an uncluttered feel that can make space for problems to be resolved and new ideas to emerge.

Commentators suggest that it was most likely springtime when these shepherds are keeping watch. Shepherds and sheep simply wouldn’t survive if this were winter. In Luke’s narrative these shepherds have a symbolic value. Watching through the night in order to guard their flocks from predators, they symbolise those who care for the vulnerable. This scene is in contrast to the world over which Caesar Augustus presides.

New Testament Scholar, Amy J Levine, imagines how the shepherds might spend their time:

‘We can picture these shepherds, under the stars. They are doing what people do at the end of the day: telling stories, singing songs, praying to God for good health or for the Romans to go away, talking about household joys and sorrows. Perhaps there are women among the shepherds, gathered together to tell their own stories and to share their own dreams.‘

On this night their watch through the night turns to wonder as the angels appear. In the darkness of the night they are caught up in glory.

How has God invited you to watch and wait this Advent?

(Luke 2:1-14, Midnight Mass)

MOUNTAIN

Come, let us go up to the
MOUNTAIN of the Lord,
to the Temple of the God of Jacob
that he may teach us his ways
so that we may walk in his paths…

In the opening chapters of Isaiah we find ourselves invited to ‘go up to the mountain of the Lord’. Mountains for Isaiah are metaphors and symbols of God’s promises. Isaiah’s world was chaotic, unjust and under constant threat of war. Into this world Isaiah speaks words of hope and a vision of unity. The mountain stands for a world that is better, where justice flourishes and there is no need for war. This mountain is Jerusalem, beloved city and place of holiness and hope.

For Isaiah, the secret to the peace and unity promised for those who make the journey up to the mountain of the Lord, is the keeping of God’s law, Torah. This is where their hope lies. When they truly walk in God’s ways war will no longer be a possibility.

As war continues in Ukraine and bitter conflict continues between Hamas and Israel, we need a vision of peace more than ever. We can hold onto Isaiah’s hope that one day war will no longer be a possibility, while at the same time feeling helpless in the face of such endemic conflict. Our faith teaches us that every small act that fosters peace is not lost. God can use it all.

How can you foster peace in your family, workplace, community this Advent?

(Monday, Week One, Isaiah 2:1-5)

LOWLY

In your midst I will leave a humble and LOWLY people, and those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.

Israel’s story begins in obscurity, with no great fame or riches to guarantee its security or growth. Its faith is a tiny flame. Each step on the journey involves the protecting of that flame. For the flame of God’s plan to grow the humble and loving faith of a small group of people is needed. These are the ‘lowly’. The circumstances of their lives are such that they know their need of God.

In the Old Testament the lowly are known as the anawim. Sr Maria Boulding osb, in her book, The Coming of God’ explores their role in the story of salvation:

‘These anawim appear as the spiritual kernel of the nation from the seventh century BC. These were the have-nots, the underprivileged, the powerless, the oppressed, the people whose economic poverty drove them to unlimited trust in God.
The poor were the humble, the people who were obedient to the will of God, those whose very misery had forced their hearts open to him.’

God constantly entrusted himself in love to the people of Israel. Those who were poor and humble had space enough to receive him. They had lived lives of faithfulness to the Torah and could do no other than follow its commands.

Can you name the anawim in your own life?
What can they teach you?

(Tuesday, Week Three, Zephaniah 3:1-2. 9-13)

KINGDOM

As you go, proclaim that the
KINGDOM of heaven is close at hand.
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, cast out devils

Through the Old Testament texts which we hear in Advent our biblical imaginations are reminded of the major themes in the story of our salvation. We hear again the promise that a time of sorrow is to be ended and that a new life awaits the Israelites. This new life is to be full of reversals: tears will be wiped away and mourning turned to joy, nations will turn the implements of war into agricultural tools, the lame will leap and all will enjoy a lavish banquet. A child will be born who will embody every virtue of the perfect King. Integrity and good government will be assured. God’s Kingdom will be established in peace and security.

When Matthew writes his Gospel he too tells the story of the Kingdom. Where the Old Testament prophets promised a new world order, Matthew now points to Jesus as the living embodiment of the Kingdom. The disciples are called and tasked with this vision too. The disciples are to proclaim the Kingdom in word and deed. They will seek out those who are in need. Little by little glimpses of a new world order will be seen.

We need to hear this message more than ever in our world today. Situations of endemic conflict weigh on our hearts. Holding fast to the vision of the Kingdom takes as much hope and faith now as it did for our ancestors.

Where have you glimpsed the Kingdom this Advent?

(Matthew 9:35-10:1.6-8)

JOY

I’ve prayed the Psalter for almost thirty years. The poetry and the rhythm of our singing have the effect of, little by little, altering my inner landscape. Just about every human emotion is to be found in the Psalms. ‘Joy’ makes a frequent appearance along with ‘delight’ and ‘exultation’. The Books of Isaiah are written in a style which reminds me of the Psalms. Hard-hitting rhetoric about Israel and Judah’s failure to walk in the way of the Lord is woven together with some of the most exultant words in Scripture.

Isaiah tells of a great reversal of fortunes: the people will leave behind the wilderness experience of Exile and run to the safety and security of Zion. The whole cosmos will share in the joy of God’s saving act. This is no fleeting joy, this joy is everlasting. Every fibre of their being will be filled with joy.

They will come to Zion shouting for joy;
everlasting joy on their faces;
JOY and gladness will go with them
and sorrow and lament be ended.

It’s easy to lose sight of this prophetic promise in our own lives. It is into our own world, with all its joys and sorrows, that Isaiah still speaks his promise. What is dry and arid God promises to renew with an everlasting joy. Advent invites me to be consciously open to those moments of joy.

Where have you experienced joy this Advent?

(35:1-10 Monday, Week Two)

Have a care for justice, act with INTEGRITY, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest.

Amidst the necessary preparations for Christmas it is very easy to lose sight of the many prophetic calls that are found in the Liturgy of the Word for Advent. In the texts from the three Books of Isaiah, though they are written in different time periods, there is a strong and insistent voice that calls for an integration of worship, behaviour and attitudes. Isaiah warns against honouring God with your lips while you cheat the poor.

When the writer of the Third Book of Isaiah calls for integrity it is a radical call to ‘bind in mutuality the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor. The intent is to assure every member of security, dignity and well being.’ (Walter Brueggemann) Isaiah’s vision is one of right ordering.

In the Gospel texts which we read during Advent we walk alongside Jesus as he preaches and heals. We walk alongside Jesus as he brings the ‘right order’ of the Kingdom. Jesus models for us the integrity which we seek.

How is God calling you to integrity this Advent?

(Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-8, Friday, Week 3)

HOLY

The Almighty works marvels for me.
HOLY is his name.

The Magnificat begins with an invitation to praise, thanksgiving, joy and gladness. Mary sings of the marvels already done in her life, with perhaps only an inkling of what is to come. She has lived a life of quiet holiness, she has been faithful. Mary worshipped the one God; she made pilgrimages to the Temple; she prayed the shema morning and evening and she obeyed Torah in the spirit of the covenant. When Mary sings that God’s ‘name is holy’ she is acknowledging that everything she is and does finds its origins in God.

The Magnificat has been prayed for centuries. It shapes those who pray it.

St Bede the Venerable comments on this passage:

For the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
Mary attributes nothing to her own merits. She refers all her greatness to the gift of the one whose essence is power and whose nature is greatness, for he fills with greatness and strength the small and the weak who believe in him.
She did well to add: and holy is his name, to warn those who heard, and indeed all who would receive his words, that they must believe and call upon his name. For they too could share in everlasting holiness and true salvation according to the words of the prophet: and it will come to pass, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

In Advent we are invited to call upon God’s name. We are invited to seek that quiet holiness that Mary lived.

Pray the Magnificat each day. Ask God to show you the holiness of your own life. Give thanks to God.

(Luke 1:46–55, Dec 22nd)