Third of Advent Year C
December 2010
Today we rejoice in anticipation of the coming of God into the world.
Not that God was ever absent from the world. But Christmas is the epiphany; the demonstration of how completely God is present and involved in the world.
That is the whole point of revelation, of religion, of prayer; to get us human beings to realize, to accept, to appreciate the meaning of Immanuel - God with us.
If I could realize sufficiently the full meaning of Immanuel and the implications it holds for me, my life would be infused with a deep inner peace and contentment.
As St. Paul says in 2 Cor.
‘For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. …. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. …… So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.’
St. Paul is so infused by his appreciation of the meaning of Immanuel that he longs to be free from this mortal body which requires him to experience Immanuel only by faith and move on into immortality where he will experience Immanuel directly by sight.
Here on earth the best we can do is proclaim and experience Immanuel indirectly through signs and symbols. For example the church building symbolises the presence of God in the world. The holy water with which we bless ourselves as we enter symbolises our baptism into God’s family. The congregation symbolises God’s children gathered together to give thanks for Immanuel. And the Mass, the ultimate symbol of God in us and we in God.
As we read in Rom. 8; “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance. …….. We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. ……… What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ……… For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So today, why not trust in God and be happy?
Of course people’s idea of happiness can differ. A very conscientious and spiritual colleague of mine, who has recently passed on into eternal life, could not sleep at night if he was not worrying about something!!!!!