RICHARD: Dear Giovanni, As I skimmed over this morning's news reports, which were filled with accounts of wars and disasters from around the world, a familiar melody and the opening words of an ancient advent hymn came to mind: "Rorate Caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum" (Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness). These initial lines of the hymn were borrowed from the words of the prophet Isaiah, situated some twenty-one chapters ahead of the text we'll be exploring this Sunday. You could say that when it comes to complaining to God about the state of the world, the prophet Isaiah shows how it should be done!
In these dark days before Christmas, I often feel like moaning to God, too: Where are you, God, amid all the troubles in the world? After all, we are the works of Your hands, as Isaiah writes (Is. 64:8). When You created the world, You said that it was “very good” (Gen. 1.31), so where are You now? Nevertheless, my questions are met by a deafening silence.
Over the years, I've come to realise that this silence is teeming with hope, and with this realisation, I choose to exercise patience, to linger a little longer, waiting for God's arrival. That, my friend, is how my Advent season begins, by waiting a little longer.
GIOVANNI: It seems, then, that you are really in the right mood for Advent! The good thing about this liturgical season is that we all know that our waiting will have a happy ending with the arrival of Christmas. I wish that waiting for God’s action was so straightforward also for our lives outside the liturgical calendar…
I know many people - and so often I myself am among them! – who experience the exhaustive burden of waiting for a good turn of events that never seems to arrive. Even the most enthusiastic and optimistic person can grow weary and disenchanted after a long time of disappointing waiting. That deafening silence of God that you mentioned can feel like it is slowly tearing away all capacity of hope in our hearts.
A similar mood must have started to make its way in the Corinthian community when Paul writes his first letter today. Paul’s message is clear: there is no chance for us to remain steadfast in faith if God doesn’t empower us to do so: ‘He will keep you steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, because God by calling you has joined you to his Son, Jesus Christ; and God is faithful’ (1Cor 1, 8-9). It’s not all on our shoulders then…what a relief!
RICHARD: We are indeed fully aware of both who and what we are eagerly awaiting at Christmas. It's reminiscent of how small children delight in repeatedly hearing the same cherished story. We anticipate the carols, the festive feasts, and the midnight Mass, yearning for everything to unfold just as it always has, albeit within an idealised, non-existent, perfect world. Our expectations are high, and we believe this Christmas should be the best one yet.
On the other hand, we are also called to heed the wisdom of adults. Jesus conveys this when he instructs his disciples to "stay awake," as detailed in today's Gospel. Complying with this directive proves to be much more challenging. It brings to my mind the poignant tale of how, in the Garden of Gethsemane, all of Jesus' friends fell asleep when he needed their support the most, leaving him to grapple with his agony alone.
Yet, remaining awake is a summons for us today. We are called to actively seek the signs of the impending kingdom, signs of God's goodness and mercy, in a world that seems to have forgotten about God. Furthermore, through our baptism, God has entrusted us with a task, as Saint Mark reminds us. Although the Gospel does not specify our task, I suspect that we are called to exemplify, through our own lives, the "already, but not yet" essence of the approaching kingdom.
Amid a perplexing world, staying awake means never averting our gaze from God's presence. Much like the vigilant shepherds, we are beckoned to actively seek God, fully, hoping to find Him in the most vulnerable and unattractive places we can imagine: beyond the margins of our societies, among those excluded for whom they are or whom they love, in a refugee camp, or a humble manger in a war-torn land.
GIOVANNI: In the end, Richard, we have ended up discovering that waiting for the Lord’s coming and being watchful to already see his presence in the world are two sides of the same coin After all, how could one be genuinely waiting if not by staying awake?
We'd love for you to engage in our dialogue on the Word of God! You can share your thoughts by leaving a comment below, on our Facebook and Instagram profiles or via email at: dominicandispatches@gmail.com.
Picture: thanks to Felix Büsselmann at Pexels.com