An Advent Reflection

An Advent Reflection

By Micah J. Chisholm

December 13, 2014

He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy.

~ St. Luke 1:54

In my work as a hospital chaplain I encounter people on a daily basis who are struggling, really struggling, to hold on to faith in God. They are caught up in so much grief, confusion and tragedy that they have great difficulty seeing how God could possibly be present to them, let alone have anything good to offer them. There are so many things in life that just don’t make sense – people die young or unexpectedly – sometimes both. And we ask why? There is injustice, poverty, sickness and war. And we ask why? For many of the patients and families that I care for each day these “why” questions, these tragic circumstances make this season of Advent, this season of preparing to celebrate Christmas, especially difficult, almost ironic. What could there possibly be to look forward to, to celebrate?

For centuries the people of Israel had waited. They had lived near to God and far away from God. They had enjoyed abundance and prosperity, they had endured famine, hardship and oppression. At the time of Christ’s coming they were a people oppressed and beaten down, a people acquainted with suffering, a people waiting for God to act on their behalf, a people waiting for redemption, for hope. Indeed many of us live our lives waiting, wondering, looking for signs that God has not abandoned us, looking for redemption, for hope. This is at the heart of Advent, the time when we await the appearing, the advent of our God, our Savior.

We live in the time known as “the already and the not yet.” Christ has come, born as a babe in Bethlehem some two thousand years ago, the waiting for God to act is over, in one sense. And yet, we are still a people awaiting God’s action in bringing about the complete renewal of creation, something we look forward to when Christ comes again. Yes, we are still waiting and in the waiting we see signs of hope and signs of despair. Life and death, joy and sadness, victory and defeat – these are the things we know, these are the things we experience one beside the other as we wait.

As we wait, where do we find our point of reference, our center? What is there for us to cling to, to find hope and solace in? It is the Holy Babe born in Bethlehem – Him and no other. In our recollection of that holy birth we see the mighty act of God unfold before the eyes of our hearts. Our Blessed Lady Mary, the Theotokos reminds us in her hymn that “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy.” God’s acts of redemption and healing and provision were etched in the history of Israel, in their hearts and in their minds. Time and time again God had acted to preserve and protect his precious, chosen people. And then he acted in the greatest way, offering the greatest help when he sent his Son to be born to redeem His people. God’s mercy knew and knows no limit. In the God-Man Jesus Christ there is a perfect union between the Creator and the created, between the Divine and the Natural Man. In the God-Man full communion is achieved, and this communion is the purpose for the Incarnation, that those who unite themselves to the God-Man Jesus Christ might be united to the Divine Life and thus enter into the Life of God, into the peace and rest of God. This is our hope and consolation in our turbulent, often troubled existence on earth. This is how God has acted on our behalf, this is how He has helped us. As we wait we are urged to draw ever closer to God, to unite ourselves more and more deeply to our Redeemer and thus to experience even now more and more of the fullness of Divine Life. One day the wait will be over and Christ will come again and all things will be set in order. Until that day we must cling to our precious Savior, whose first coming we will soon celebrate, and whose second coming we must be ever watchful and ready for, that we may be found reading and worthy of the King of Glory when He comes to receive His Bride.