2nd Sunday Of Advent
December 2006
Advent is a time of waiting and preparing.
I want to put two images before you for Advent.
The first of these is the image of Mary - a young woman expecting her first child. As always, God has given her a free choice. To be the mother of the Christ or not. She has accepted God's gift and its consequences - what God is doing and will continue to do in her regard.
Things are now happening in and to her. All she can do is wait, trusting in God's goodness, as changes occur in her body, in her emotions, in her outlook on life, in her priorities and in her relationships with other human beings. Things over which she has little or no control.
She waits with total trust and confidence in her God, as her life is completely changed.
The second image is this sheet of paper. It is blank as far as you can see. It is waiting to be written on. During Advent our prayer should be a quiet waiting. Waiting for God to do something in us and with us.
Hold this seemingly blank sheet of paper up to the light. Examine it carefully and you will see that something has already been written there.
God has already been writing on the blank paper of my life. Do I know what God has written?
By holding my life up to the light of God I will discover that something has already been written there too. Gifts not yet recognised or under utilized. Promptings from the Spirit which I have ignored or avoided. Duties to others which are not yet fulfilled. Things in my lifestyle which hinder my relationships with my fellow human beings or with my God.
If during Advent I humbly contemplate these two images I may be able to make these words of Mary my own: 'for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name. '