Advent in Orissa: Christ makes "the ordinary extraordinary"
Balasore (AsiaNews) - The joyful season of Advent is here. It is the season consisting of four weeks before Christmas in which we prepare for the birth of Jesus. The season also celebrates Christ's anticipated coming again triumphantly in the fullness of time.
Because the season emphasizes Christ's comings and not just his birth, it is more than just a time to get ready for Christmas. It is a penitential season but is no longer associated with the strictness of Lent. Nevertheless, Advent reminds us that the question is not whether Jesus will return to judge the earth, but when.
Before the seventh century, Christmas was a second feast, especially in Rome; but as it came to take on more and more importance, so the season of Advent evolved in a similar manner. Advent became more solemn and its orientation changed.
From just being a time to prepare for Christmas, it became a time to look to the glorious return of the Lord, and now the Sundays of Advent reflect this double perspective of waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus (First and Second Sundays) and the immediate preparation for the feast of Christmas (Third and Fourth Sundays).
The Catholic Church summarizes Advent by saying, "When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present the ancient expectancy of the Messiah. By sharing in the long preparation for the Saviour's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for His Second Coming."
God's first intervention within our history came not in the form of some instant or earth shattering event; instead, God chose to come into the world as we all do, born as a baby in the midst of a chaotic world. Seen from within the framework of our cultural background, this seems to be a very colourless way to bring salvation to the world.
God may not always choose the easy answer or the quick fix, but by His earthly incarnation He demonstrates a total commitment to the very core of humanity - a commitment to its day-by-day routines and challenges, a commitment to humanity from the cradle to the grave and beyond.
And in that same incarnational way, God comes to us day by day, through the working of the Spirit, through His Word and Sacrament, making the ordinary extraordinary; making the broken whole; and redeeming and restoring the past, present and future, whatever they hold.
This is a message that is clear in the Scriptural readings of Advent. History, myth, faith and symbols come together to create a vision, the strength of which is not in trying to understand the detail of Christ's second coming but in catching a glimpse of the message of salvation and healing being completed.
We should not spend our time worrying about the timing of God's arrival or about the distraction of what might happen in the meantime. God's reign has already broken into our world through the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ.
His Kingdom is already arrived but not fully realized. We are to remain watchful, and aware, and to be prepared for the final coming, which is likely to happen any time that God's love is shared in a world so desperately in need of that love. It is through us, and through the very imperfect Church that bears His name that His love and grace continue to come and spread, at Advent and through the Christian year ahead as we look to His coming in glory.
There is much about Advent to enjoy, the Advent wreaths found in some of our churches where they have four candles to light each Sunday and one for Christmas Day. But in the midst of our church, we know that just as we prepare for Christmas, so we have to make ready to welcome Jesus in our lives. Are we ready for the coming of Jesus?
*Bishop of Balasore, Orissa
(Santosh Digal contributed to this article)
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