Fourth Sunday of Advent - 2024

It is Luke's gospel that gives us the details of the birth of Jesus. It is from his account that all the beautiful images Christ's nativity have been created. One of Luke's details informs us that it was in the night that Jesus was born, for we read, "And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night.…" Lk. 2:8. In our Christmas hymns we sing, O Holy Night.  In scripture, "night" has a much deeper meaning than just the time of day. Day and night, light and darkness, are images used to describe the spiritual conditions in which the souls of people find themselves. Perhaps one of the most dramatic uses of the word "night" is found in John's account of the Last Supper and Judas leaving the table to go and betray Jesus: "As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was NIGHT." During this Advent time I have been exploring what we mean by the Three Comings of Christ; the First being the Incarnation, the Second End times and the Day of Judgement, and the Third being Now, each new day as people encounter Christ and are born anew into a life of faith. But this Third Coming has a characteristic different than the First and Second. The Third Coming is real but unseen, hidden as it where from mere human viewing. It is as if we are in the dark, unable to see - that is with natural eyes. To see the Jesus of the Third coming you need the "eyes of faith". It is John in his gospel account that the image of light and darkness is used as the instrument to teach us about the true spiritual life. In John Chapter 13, verses 35 & 36 gives us an intriguing insight into Jesus the light with them, vs. 35 and then Jesus the light hidden from them, vs. 36  Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.”  After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them. John 13:35-36 It is this hidden presence that John of the Cross takes hold of for his teachings on the mystical life. He describes how one first enters the Night of the Senses and then ever deeper into the Night of the Soul. In the night of the Senses one detaches their heart from the things of the material world. Then in the Dark Night of the Soul even our constructed beliefs about God must be set aside, imperfect as they are compared to what God will now teach us about who He really is - the God of Love. The early Church Fathers understood the necessity of this hidden condition Jesus requires of us but they quite openly confessed the suffering their longing to see caused them. Quoting from an earlier post St. Anselm says it so well; Enter into your mind's inner chamber. Shut out everything but God and whatever helps you to seek him; and when you have shut the door, look for him. Speak now to God and say with your whole heart.  I seek your face; your face, Lord, I desire. Lord most high, what shall this exile do, so far from you? What shall your servant do, tormented by love of you and cast so far from your face? He yearns to see you, and your face is too far from him.  Teach me to seek you, and when I seek you show yourself to me, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, nor can I find you unless you show yourself to me. Let me seek you in desiring you and desire you in seeking you, find you in loving you. St. Ignatius in his Exercises gives us the example of three different responses  to the invitation to seek for Jesus here and now.  There are persons who are quite aware of the value of forming a spiritual approach to their life, a true seeking to have a real, personal relationship with Jesus. But they are much too busy with making a success of their secular life and do little more than decorate their homes at Christmas. Then there are persons who do get involved in certain religious practices, but only those that do not interfere with their otherwise busy secular lives. Religion when convenient. Finally there are those who truly set out in search of Him. They will not let anything interfere with their pursuit. No thing, no person, no attachment they may have in this life can compete with that union with Jesus they desire. These days of Advent 2024, as all  Advents do, have led us to reflect on the First Coming of Jesus. We have come to understand that these are not simply days of sentimental remembering before we pack up the Christmas decorations for another year. Rather this is a time for us to grasp the fact that he who came is NOW COMING, standing before us, inviting us to leave all behind and go with him into a new and hidden future with only his word as a guarantee. If we are willing to risk everything he will lead us into a glory beyond all imagining. Are you with him?