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

23rd SUNDAY (B) 15 November 2009

常年期第三十三主日 達尼爾先知書 12:1-3 致希伯來人書 10:11-14,18 聖馬爾谷福音 13:24-3

The readings we listen to at this time of the year have a sense of fear and calamity about them. The imagery is strong, as we heard today: the sun and the moon will not shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and even the powers of heaven will be shaken. People very easily interpret this as a reference to the end of the world; and at various times in history, when things have looked grim, the prophets of doom have used these words of the Gospel as a rallying call for people to change their ways and get ready for the end. But I think we also know that there is something a bit unreal about a literal interpretation of this gospel; that this is not what we are facing immediately.

We have a real challenge before if we want to understand what Jesus was saying. He used a particular style of language, which is found in various parts of both the Old and New Testaments. It was vivid in its imagery, and it was meant to shock. It was never about some time far off into the future when the world would end. It was a call to action – immediate action. He was telling his hearers that something of great significance was going on among them, and they should pay attention to it. The urgency of his message was real. He wanted his hearers to do more than think about the end of the world. To simply focus there would be to hide from the present moment.

What is so urgent? What is happening? Why this call to immediate action? The answer is simple: Jesus himself has created the urgency. His message and his miracles pointed to a new heaven and a new earth. He has come into the world and the world is being transformed. God’s kingdom is dawning in the world, and bringing with it a whole new set of relationships between people, and a new order of creation. But as we listen to his words we should remember that the things he was talking about have already begun to happen. He is the Son of Man who has already come in great power and glory. The world is already a different place because of his life, death and resurrection.

So what should future generations take from his words? What can you and I take from this rather strange gospel? One obvious thing is that we are faced with the fact of change. The basic question put to us today is how we deal with the changes that we encounter through life. Sometimes these are personal changes, such as moving from childhood to youth and then to adulthood, or moving into marriage, or facing old age, or finding a new job. Sometimes they are bigger changes, such as those brought about by larger economic forces, or social movements, or political opinion. And sometimes change happens on a global level, such as when we have to face up to the survival of the planet and consider how we use our natural resources, and how we live as true stewards of the environment. Jesus says in the gospel, to read the signs of the times. So this is an important lesson the readings today offer us: notice what is happening around us and be ready to interpret it.

These readings are also telling us that we are never simply idle bystanders, whether it be in the changes within our personal lives, or bigger movements in the world. I think there is a useful hint in the image of the fig tree. The lesson of the fig tree is that the new season begins as a tiny shoot on the tree and that it takes time for the flowers to form and open up. The images Jesus used on other occasions tell us that the kingdom takes shape slowly, almost imperceptibly. God’s kingdom has already begun, and it is still taking shape in the world. For that reason, the urgency of the gospel message is just as strong today. We, who hear the gospel Jesus preached, are being lured by God to participate in the divine action in the world. We are called to be co-workers with the Spirit in the transformation of the world. The little things that happen will gradually build up so that the world is different: little things like the way we treat other people; the values we uphold concerning justice and care for the poor; about the harmony we build in the circle of those we are in daily contact with; and the way we learn to live in harmony with nature. Yes, there is always something that we can’t predict, or can’t control, but if we take heed of the signs that are around us we can participate in the movement of this change. I think that this shows us another important lesson from these readings: seize the moment and work for good because we have been assured that good has already triumphed in Christ.

God is always at work in our world. The act of creation continues day by day, as the world is transformed into the sort of place that God has planned for the whole of creation. St Paul uses a phrase that speaks of the whole of creation groaning in one great act of giving birth. Perhaps this helps us interpret the times in which we live: we are living through change – and it is often unsettling. Let our prayer be that what comes to birth may be worthy of God who has offered us so much.

Fr Gerard Kelly