First Sunday of Advent 'B'

Sunday November 30, 2008

It’s time to get on board!

When I was a kid, I used to love to stand at the rear of the old Lackawanna train to New York or on the Christopher Street ferry watching intently as the images of people and buildings diminish and finally disappear into the memory of the past. It was a mesmerizing experience—the faster the speed, the greater the fascination.

However, I enjoyed even more the view from the front of the train right next to the engineer’s cabin or at the bow of the ferry. The anticipation of new images beyond the horizon or around the bend unleashed adrenaline and increased the excitement of what was ahead. Even as a kid, I preferred living in the future than in the past!

But the real thrill of my life was triggered by the initially unwelcome assignment to Rome for graduate studies almost forty years ago, an assignment that would necessitate a voyage by sea to a world I had never seen before — at least not live and in person in a city that was called ‘eternal.’

I still have very vivid memories of the faces of family and friends as we slipped away from the dock at 44th Street. From the stern I watched the Isle of Manhattan diminish and slowly disappear along with the unwanted memories of past fears and failures; but the most precious memories of the past seemed to intensify with the increasing awareness that I would not return for at least three years. Transatlantic travel was expensive and not an option for students except for emergencies.

Oh, I know, it was not as if we were going to war or that our lives were in jeopardy for some other reason except for the hurricane that we encountered for three long days. There were moments when I thought we would see the bottom of the sea before we would see the coast of Italy!

As the hurricane subsided, I made my way to the bridge of the ship high above the bow and looked intently for the coast of Spain. Patience has never my strength when it comes to the anticipation of future events. There were moments when I could see the coast but it was only a mirage.

I think the readings for this first week of Advent support the need to stand at both ends of the ship on the voyage of life — to be vigilant but patient on the bow; to be reflective and prayerful on the stern; and we need to know when to stand where, but we do need to do both!

In those days, I thought I knew where I was going. Although I didn’t have a plan or program, I had a vision and an image of what I would face on the other side. At times it was a romantic view — some day I’ll be pope! At other times, it was quite the opposite — I’ll return a failure in disgrace. Of course the outcome was neither because God’s ways are not our ways – thank God!

As we conclude another “year of grace” we need to stand at the stern of the ship and look back over the past year — perhaps over all the years as far as our memory can take us. We need to allow some memories to disappear into the past, especially the memory of wounds that may have diminished our sense of self and self-esteem and the memory of wounds we have inflicted on others for which we have long since atoned.

Still at the stern, we may need to recall the image of precious people and recapture learnings that animated and revitalized our inner spirit without imparting a false sense of security. These are the memories that give us the courage to move to the bow of the ship to face the future undaunted, with openness to what can be rather than could have been. Hurricanes happen but these and other of life’s hurtles are not insurmountable.

Advent is kairos time as opposed to chronological time. Kairos means opportune, a season of opportunity. Conversion is ever a necessity and always a possibility. Jesus came once chronologically in history but he comes constantly at opportune moments in our lives most unexpectedly. We need to remain alert. “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘be watchful! Be alert!’ You do not know when the time will come.” Do not be afraid. Jesus did not come to condemn but to empower.

In the words of one commentator, “We wait for that which we have not yet seen and we work for that which has not yet been accomplished.”

We are partners with God in Christ as we move into the future. In fact, we live in the same time zone as God. It’s just that we tend to look at time differently. It’s time to get on board the ship instead of treading water or ‘wading’ in the shallow end of the pool.

Though we are in a different time and place, our prayer at the beginning of this new liturgical year is that of Isaiah. As we acknowledge our past failures and confess our faults, we cry out to God, “Why do you let us wander, O Lord, from your ways and harden our hearts so that we no longer stand in awe of you? … Oh that you would ‘rip open’ the heavens — ‘Rorate coeli!’ — and come down and see that we are trying to get things right.”

“You, Lord, are our father [and mother]; we are the clay and you the potter. We are the work of your hands.” So, Lord, empower us to be who we are — who you made us to be from the very beginning.

Written for a people on the move centuries ago, these words have meaning for people on the move today.

Advent is a time of conversion and so we need to look back and look ahead. It is a time of conversion for each of us individually and a time of conversion for the Church too. But Advent is also for everyone — Christians, Jews, Moslems; Republicans and Democrats; Presidents, premiers and primates; Americans, Africans, Arabs and Asians; for all who claim God as their own — Eloim, Jehovah, Allah. Advent is about the acknowledgement of God as Creator, father and mother of all humanity, our common God — our God who wants to be in communion with all of humanity.

So, stop treading water and get on board.

“Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.” [Ps 80:3]

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