4th SUNDAY ADVENT (C) 20 December 2009

將臨期第四主日 米該亞先知書 5:1-4 致希伯來人書 10:5-10 聖路加福音 1:39-45

With Christmas less than a week away we should all be feeling a sense of anticipation. It is interesting what different forms this anticipation can take. For some, particularly those who are trying to organise activities, the anticipation might be very stressful. For young children it is usually exciting as they count down the days. It is helpful for all of us to reflect on how we are anticipating Christmas. The readings today invite us to do so.

The central characters in the gospel are Mary and Elizabeth. But it is Elizabeth who is centre stage; Mary doesn’t even have a speaking part at this stage (she will speak later, but we don’t hear that today). Both women are anticipating the birth of a child, and both are filled with joy. The sense of anticipation is heightened by the fact that these children in the womb respond to what is going on. This is even more reason to anticipate their births and the impact they will have among the community. Of course, we know that they will have an impact on the whole world. That’s the real anticipation for us!

Elizabeth speaks at length in what is really a hymn or song of praise. Parts of it have been used for centuries in the familiar prayer, the Hail Mary. In this song Elizabeth blesses Mary and the child she is carrying, and she gives thanks for this visitation. She recognises here a special act of God’s graciousness, both to her and to Mary. God’s plan is unfolding among them and she praises God for it. She would have known God’s promises spoken through the prophets. Like all her people she would have been waiting for the promised one of God who would come to redeem the people. It hasn’t happened yet, but she knows that God is already at work and that he will shortly reveal his love. Her anticipation is joyful, and the child in her womb leaps for joy. She recognises Mary as the mother of her Lord, and thus recognises the child Mary is carrying as the promised one of God. Her anticipation is firmly grounded in the belief she had that God would fulfil his promises. But it is not just Elizabeth and her child who anticipate what is about to happen: Elizabeth blesses Mary who believed that the promises made to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.

In Elizabeth’s song of praise we learn something very important about the true meaning of Advent and the importance of this time of the year. One of the problems we face in our society is that we can easily try to sidestep any sense of waiting and anticipation. We like instant solutions. We are all more focused on Christmas than on waiting for Christmas. I am amazed at how many times I have heard people say that they just wish Christmas would come and they wouldn’t have to make all the preparation. It is as though waiting and preparing are not seen to have any real value in themselves. Advent tries to tell us something different. The rhythm of the liturgy over these four weeks keeps Christmas at a distance – you are meant to long for it and wait for it. Even today, when for the first time we have a reference to the birth of Jesus, Christmas is still kept at a distance. We have to stand with Mary and Elizabeth and wait in anticipation.

This is an important spiritual attitude, and the gospel today tells us how we can be more attentive to it. What we are talking about is the virtue of hope. Now, hope comes into play when we are dealing with things that we don’t know everything about, and that we cannot see at the moment. We might ask the question, “On what basis can we have hope, if we cannot see the future?” The scene with Mary and Elizabeth gives us the answer – in particular Elizabeth’s words to Mary, “Blessed is she who believed that the promises made her by the Lord would be fulfilled”. Mary knew the promises that God had made, and she trusted God. The certainty she needed was found in her relationship with God. She didn’t need to see the future clearly. In other words, Mary’s hope is based on her faith.

All Christian hope is based on faith. So at this time of year we have an opportunity to recall our faith and to renew our hope. In this way we will have a clearer picture of what we are anticipating with the birth of Jesus. We will come to know what difference Jesus has made in the world, and how we can shape our future lives around that difference. Yet some don’t understand this. I have no doubt that over these days of Christmas we will hear news items about those who tell us that it is all a bit bizarre. I have been amazed at how aggressive atheists and secularists have become in recent times. We could say a lot about them and to them, but one thought I have is that they don’t really understand Christian hope and its basis. They are not comfortable dealing with what cannot be seen, and they don’t understand the nature of Christian faith and the certainty it gives. Faith is not like science or mathematics, so it doesn’t give that type of certainty. Rather it is certainty based on what God has already done. We know that Christ has died and Christ is risen; that is the basis for our anticipation that he will come again. This fourth Sunday of Advent is about the future – yes, the future of Mary and Elizabeth and the children they are carrying, but also the future that each of us looks forward to in anticipation. Let’s renew our hope.

Fr. Gerard Kelly