ADVENT – A SEASON OF HOPE A Happy and Blessed Advent to all of you! Today is the first Sunday of Advent, one of the four Sundays when we are asked to prepare for the coming commemoration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas. The word Advent means Coming. It refers specifically to the Coming of Christ, first at His birth in Bethlehem, and second at the Final Judgment. The liturgy suggests the theme of coming. There are four Advent candles in front of you, three colored purple and one colored pink. The purple-colored candles evoke the long period of longing and waiting for the Promised Messiah from the time of the prophets in the Old Testament to the time of Christ’s birth. Those long years of waiting were characterized by a sense of hope and suspense. There was hope that salvation in the person of the Messiah was near. Speaking about hope, I know I don’t want to tell you that hope is a beautiful word. It is a beautiful feeling that something wonderful is going to happen. May I tell you about an old Christmas carol with the title ‘Whispering Hope.’ As a young seminarian, I used to join a small town caroling group go from house to house during the Advent season and sing this heart-warming song whose lyrics go like this: ‘Soft as the voice of an angel, Breathing a lesson unheard; Hope with a gentle persuasion Whispers a comforting word.’ Wait till the darkness is over, Wait till the tempest is gone; Hope for a sunshine tomorrow, After the shower is gone.’
Advent is a season of hope. Perhaps, children can teach us something about hope. When the kids see their gifts under the Christmas tree, see how their eyes sparkle at the sight of the gifts. But, I’m sure you can also tell how their hearts are bursting with suspense and excitement hoping that what’s inside the boxes with the attractive wrappings are the presents of their dreams.
Excitement, suspense and surprise – what better words to describe our Advent feeling as we look forward to Christmas. Incidentally, there is something in this building that will give us, young and old, a feeling of excitement, suspense and surprise. It’s Father Dave’s Winter Wonderland which opened this weekend. Last night, when I checked out the Winter Wonderland I was greeted with a fantastic cornucopia of dazzling Christmas lights, paper toys and real toys small, a very large paper Santa Claus, and everything else that can compete with Macy’s or Saks Fifth Avenue holiday light show. (I was thinking about my own very young grandnephews and grandnieces - there are twenty three of them, half of whom are below the age of eighth - and how I wish they were here to see our parish Winter Wonderland!)
Then, after the brief tour of the Christmas wonderland, that brings out the kid in you, there’s the big surprise – a beautiful creche awaits you before the exit. What a great teaching moment! All the glitter, all the sparkle, all the splendor of Christmas lights should lead us to the real Light, Christ in the manger, who is the Light of the world, who is the reason for the season!