Reclaim the Sacred This Advent

Verses for reference: Isaiah 40:25-31, Psalm 103:1-2,3-4,8 & 10, Matthew 11:28-30  

“Behold, the Lord comes to save his people; blessed are those prepared to meet him.” 

We all know that Advent is a time to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas.  However, in our day, with all the marketing of Christmas, the decorating, gift-giving, and parties, this most sacred event is overshadowed by the secularization of the birth of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ.  Even in some Christian families, Jesus may not even be mentioned as part of their celebration. 

In this type of climate, if the joy of the birth of Jesus can be replaced by a worldly celebration, just an occasion for family and friends to get together and eat, drink, and give gifts, how much more is the equally important aspect of Advent overlooked, ignored, or forgotten?   

The event we should be preparing for more than anything else in life is meeting Jesus face to face, either at his second coming at the end of time or at the moment of our death, whichever comes first. This degradation in our preparation to celebrate both the birth of Christ and his second coming in glory is like cool water on a hot day for the devil. It gives him the closest thing he can experience to pleasure and happiness because it makes this most sacred and holy celebration just another day. It also causes wavering souls to drift ever more into his current of lies and deception, as he does his best to lead them to reject the Lord and join him for eternity. The enemy wants us to feel stranded and hopeless, like someone up the creek without a paddle. 

Advent is a great reminder of how blessed we are when we are prepared to meet the Lord, but this is the life we should be living every day.  Jesus has promised to save us from our sins and share his life with us; we shouldn’t need a season to prepare. It should be our way of life. Scripture points this out by saying, “Behold, the Lord comes to save his people; blessed are those prepared to meet him.” These words perfectly encapsulate what Advent is all about. We are assured that even though we fail God in our sinfulness, he loves us no matter how far we have strayed from him. The prophet Isaiah tells us that God is gracious and merciful. He redeems our life from destruction and crowns us with his kindness and compassion. He does not deal with us according to our sins nor does he give us the punishment we deserve; thanks be to God. He says that those who hope in the Lord will find renewed strength in him, greater than they could ever imagine. 

The gospel according to Matthew builds on this message of God’s love and mercy, reminding us that God is always calling us to himself.  The question is, are we listening? Jesus calls out to the crowds, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Then he sweetened his call even more by saying, “For my yoke is easy and, my burden light.”   

It makes you wonder, back when Jesus was physically present to the people, when he called them, when he personally said these words to them, how many chose to follow him?  Probably not many.  Some may have fallen to fear, not believing Jesus could actually do what he claimed.  How would we have reacted to Jesus’ call if we had been there?  As modern-day Christians, how do we respond to Jesus’ call today?  Why is it so easy to believe the lie that following Jesus is painful and burdensome?  Could it be that, out of fear, we have never allowed ourselves to draw close enough to Jesus to find out?  Or could it be that, deep down, we don’t believe Jesus either?  Do we think Jesus is a liar?  I can assure you that Jesus is not a liar and if he says, “My yoke is easy and, my burden is light,” then it is.  We just have to trust him and continue to surrender to his love each day, drawing closer and closer to his Sacred Heart. One day, we will find ourselves closer to him than we ever thought possible, and our life will reflect that. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I am not saying that living a life lived in Christ, through Christ, and with Christ, is easy, because it’s not.  There is strong opposition from both the physical and the spiritual worlds.  What I am saying is that it is possible.  It’s possible for me and it’s possible for you.  The good news is that the closer we get to Jesus, the lighter our burdens in life become. They won’t be gone, but they will be light because Jesus will be bearing the burden for us.    

Of course, the opposition will still be there, constantly trying to heap new burdens on us.  We should expect this; that’s the way it is in a fallen world. But if we rebuke the enemy in the name of Jesus, the Lord won’t allow those burdens to weigh us down. 

My friends, let’s make this Advent the one in which we truly surrender our lives to Jesus, body, mind, and soul so that we may continue to grow in our relationship with him. May we continue to persevere even when it’s tough, so that we may share in his life of love both now as we receive Him in the Eucharist, and for eternity in heaven. 

Amen