We begin another Advent. We open our minds and hearts to the\ncoming of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bernard of Clairvaux speaks of three comings of Christ: (1)\nhis first coming in humility, in the manger at Bethlehem; (2) his coming again\nin glory to judge the living and the dead; and (3) the invisible way in which\nhe comes to all true believers who desire him. \nIn the words of Jesus, \u201cIf anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my\nFather will love him, and we will come to him\u201d (John 14:23). Jesus desires to\nbe present to those who desire his presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Advent is a season of presence. \u201cAdvent\u201d comes from the\nLatin adventus<\/em> (\u201carrival\u201d or\n\u201ccoming\u201d). But adventus <\/em>is a\ntranslation of the Greek word parousia<\/em>\n\u2013 often used to describe Jesus\u2019 coming again in glory, but literally meaning\n\u201cpresence.\u201d It is easy for some\nChristians to slip into gloom and doom fantasies about a future apocalypse; it\nis challenging to abide in the present moment, to watch and wait with sober\nHope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is the invitation of Jesus: \u201cWhat I say to you, I say\nto all: \u2018Watch!\u2019\u201d (Mark 13:37). In Greek, this command to \u201cwatch\u201d is gregore<\/em>\u0129te<\/em>. The\nChristian name Gregory is derived from this invitation to sober watchfulness,\nso frequent in the admonitions of Jesus as well as in other New Testament\nwritings (e.g.<\/em>, 1 Peter 5:8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gregory the Great (ca.<\/em>\n540-604) is one of my favorite popes and saints. He was born into a prominent\nRoman family \u2013 during a time in which the faded glory of Rome was quickly passing\naway. Much that was good and beautiful had collapsed or was about to, and\nGregory had no illusions that the clock could be turned back to \u201cthe good old\ndays.\u201d He answered God\u2019s call to become a Benedictine monk, and his heart\ndesired the peaceful prayer of the monastery. However, God and others kept\ntapping his talents for administration during a time of great crisis. He humbly\ndescribes his struggles to remain a man of prayer amidst the administration of stressful\ncrises that were impossible to ignore. I can relate!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gregory was profoundly aware that his name meant \u201cWatchman\u201d\nand that the words of Isaiah applied to him: Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel<\/em>. A\nwatchman is called to stand upon the heights, to keep his mind and heart in a\nplace of calm, peace, loving awareness, discernment, wisdom, and creativity \u2013\nso as to be a blessing to others. Such was Gregory\u2019s deep desire, even though\nhe felt and expressed his struggles: \u201cWho am I to be a watchman, for I do not\nstand on the mountain of action but lie down in the valley of weakness?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever his pain and struggles may have been, Gregory\u2019s holy desire to be a watchman prevailed. Constantly renewed and enlightened by Jesus, Gregory\u2019s foresight led to the establishment of hundreds of monasteries, which preserved so much of the beauty, goodness, and truth of Athens and Rome, and which became vibrant hubs of evangelization in the centuries ahead. Gregory\u2019s sober watchfulness allowed him to continue doing works of mercy in the present moment, but without being consumed in a false fantasy to prop up structures whose time had passed. His sober watchfulness was both deeply pessimistic and optimistic at the same time \u2013 accepting the depressing truth that the good old days were definitively gone, and simultaneously seeing with optimistic Faith new rays of hopeful light where other more frantic people were blinded by their busyness, fear, or denial. Survival mode does not tend to bring the best out of human beings. Our field of vision narrows (both literally and figuratively), and we tend to keep going back to repetitive and predictable \u201csolutions\u201d \u2013 as though doing it for the forty-second time will somehow yield different results. True to his name, Gregory knew how to keep getting back into his watchtower<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When reflecting on the great mystery that is the Church,\nGregory offers one of the most profound descriptions I ever came across during\nmy doctoral research. He compares the Church to the dawn:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The holy Church,\nseeking the rewards of heavenly life, is called the dawn, for as she leaves\nbehind the darkness of sin, she shines forth with the light of righteousness.\nBut while we live, it is dawn, not perfect Day \u2026 For dawn or daybreak indeed\nannounces that the night has passed, but does not manifest the full splendor of\nthe Day. Rather, as it dispels the night and takes on the Day, the dawn holds a\nlight that is mixed with darkness.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Church, on her present sojourn through history, is\nindeed a mixture of weeds and wheat, darkness and light, sinners and saints.\nThe same is true of our own hearts. \nGregory proceeds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As long as the law of\nthe flesh clashes with the law of the spirit, and the law of the spirit with\nthe law of the flesh, light and darkness will blend together. Thus when Paul\nsays, \u201cThe night is far gone\u201d (Romans 13:12), he does not add, \u201cthe Day has\narrived,\u201d but rather, \u201cthe Day is near\u201d \u2026 The Day shall arrive when no darkness\nof sin triumphs. Then the Church of the elect will be fully day, when no shadow\nof sin is mixed with her.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n What wise and Hope-filled words! He can look truthfully at\nhis own heart and at the Church and see truthfully both darkness and light. But\nthere is Hope. The thing about dawn is that it does NOT turn back into night.\nSo also with the Church. The gates of hell will not prevail against her. He\nwill be with her always. No matter how deep the darkness may seem at certain\nmoments, we can look for the streaks of light and be assured that the dawn will<\/strong> break into full Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our present age is eerily parallel to that of Gregory. So\nmuch that we once took for granted has collapsed, and there is no turning back the\nclock. The only way forward is the way through, and we can easily get\ndiscouraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This Advent, we can join Gregory, not to mention the\noriginal twelve Apostles who first heard Jesus\u2019 admonition to \u201cwatch.\u201d Heeding the\ninvitation of the Beatitudes, we can embrace our poverty and grieve our losses\n\u2013 getting past our denial and blame. We can abide in the present moment, even\nwhen it feels disorienting and scary. We can stay sober and vigilant. Jesus\nwill open the eyes of our heart, and help us to see the new light that he\nalways brings. As promised, his Spirit is always at work, shining in unexpected\nplaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being watchful disciples means attuning to those first streaks of dawn, and allowing them to surprise us with joy. We tend to have tunnel vision about how Jesus is going to answer our prayers. Jesus always tends to surprise his disciples with joy in ways they least expect. If we are sober and watchful in the present moment, our vision can be broadened again and again. Noticing with true vision the streaks of dawn, we can become eager heralds of the full light of Day that is breaking into this world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We begin another Advent. We open our minds and hearts to the coming of Christ. Bernard of Clairvaux speaks of three comings of Christ: (1) his first coming in humility, in the manger at Bethlehem; (2) his coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead; and (3) the invisible way in which … <\/p>\n