The start of every liturgical year brings us into the season of
Advent. These fleeting four weeks often pass
us in double-quick time amidst the many other preparations for Christmas. Many of us hardly have the time to truly
enter into this spiritual space that the church provides for us to ready ourselves
to wonder at the incarnation of God. The
way the world of mammon promotes Christmas with such fervour causes our
spiritual preparation for Christmas to take a back seat. The way things seem to be going, Advent would
be lucky to be given a seat at all!
But in truth, Advent centres around a very important element in all
of our lives, whether we are religious or not.
This is because Advent’s heart is that of a yearning, a longing and a
deep hunger that seeks to be sated.
Every single one of us can identify some part in our hearts which
sees us incomplete, unfulfilled, and unfinished, causing us to constantly crane
our necks to look for, pine for and yearn for that one thing that we consider
to be our ultimate fulfillment and which once attained, will give us what we
believe to be lasting and true joy.
The scenarios vary, but the underlying truth is that there is an
undeniable consistency that threads through all of them - persons illness looking
for a healing or a cure for their condition so that they can get back to life
as they knew it before; students who yearn for the day when they finally get their
hands on that coveted diploma; refugees who experiencing homelessness, leaving them
with no real safe haven that accords them citizenship with its rights; broken
hearts languishing in their depression anticipating the day when they can dare
to love again; vice presidents of some multinational corporation just anxious
for the day when they can sit in the place of their boss as the head of the
company; single, unmarried persons pining for the appearance of a special human
being who will be the perfect life partner in marriage. These are just examples to show that there is
a longing that exists in all human hearts.
We seem to exist in a world where there is a continual waiting, with an
insatiable hunger that often leaves us hungrier and more needy than when we
began to address it.
Doesn’t this prompt anyone to ask whether at all there exists a
fundamental longing or an intrinsic desire that is at the root of this, or from
where these strivings originate? Faith
gives us an affirmative answer to this, and in the fifth century, St Augustine
named it with a graced brilliance.
In his autobiography simply called Confessions, St Augustine bore
his soul with great depth and honesty when he said “Thou hast created us for
Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee.”
Some would say that Augustine is probably history’s most notable
‘playboy-to-priest’, and his no-holds barred narration of his life shows that
even great saints have had their share of chasing after false joys and
temporary thrills. But it was only by
the grace of God that he was led via his empty chases to the only and ultimate
chase of all that he found peace, contentment and tranquility. It was revealed that what he was chasing
without, was actually seeking him within.
Before this discovery, the U2 hit “I still haven’t found what I’m
looking for” could have been his anthem.
In a nutshell, Augustine gave an answer to man’s constant quest for
what he thinks ultimately satisfies and sets him at rest. All the yearnings and hopes that man can ever
have are subordinate to the yearning that exists not just in the heart, but
also in the very purpose that all hearts are created for – a union with our
Creator.
Religion, when done well, brings us to that point where we are able
to identify this. Religion then becomes
the gateway for us to make that all-important connection with the origin of our
hearts’ greatest desire. But when done
badly, and when misused, religion can often end up doing the exact opposite of
what it was meant to do, and can become in and of itself an end rather than a
means toward one. Bad religion controls, but good religion truly
frees. This is not to say that good
religion is something that should be free of any boundaries either. In fact, good religion can and should show
the love that undergirds all boundaries that are necessary for true
freedom. We will be doing God a great
injustice if we lead people to worship only the religion of God instead of
helping them to meet the God of religion.
Advent’s purpose, though manifold, is to get everyone to dare to ask
what in the world they are waiting for and hoping for in life. The end of Advent, which is Christmas, is the
answer to this perennial question.
We all have our different longings, hopes and yearnings in
life. Advent serves to remind us not
just of our common yearnings as human beings, but also reveals that our
ultimate yearning can only be fulfilled by the one who has created us in love,
and came to show us how to truly love.
Hmmm frLuke "We will be doing God a great injustice if we lead people to worship only the religion of God instead of helping them to meet the God of religion." so profound for me. And I ask myself: should i just be a follower of Jesus, or, strive for discipleship :)
ReplyDeletewt
“Advent Question - What are we all ultimately waiting for in life?”
ReplyDeleteYesterday, at the morning mass, I was startled and then deeply moved by the prophecy of prophet Isaiah when he said that “ ..............He (The Lord) will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations, He will destroy Death for ever.” This seemed so apt even for our times.
In the First Coming – Jesus came to fulfil this promise when he came to remove the weeping veil of suffering - curing the lame, the blind, feeding the hungry, lifting up the weak and poor, the down-trodden...........to show the magnitude of the Father’s love and mercy for His people. In the Gospel, we see that The Lord provides - abundantly, over-flowingly - all and more than what we need or deserve............for He alone knows and cares for all our needs – be it material , emotional and spiritual..........even to the hidden pains and secret tears, our hopes and desires.
So when confronted with your question of - “ Advent Question - What are we all ultimately waiting for in life?” I can only think of countering it with another question – “What is it that can satisfy the deepest hunger and longing of the human heart?”
The great Saints of the Church have not only given us the answer (refer to St Augustine) but also showed the way we should go as we take in the life of St Francis Xavier, whose feast day we are celebrating today. We may not be as courageous as him in crossing vast oceans to bring the Good News to those ignorant of the Gospel but we can heed The Lord’s call to “Go out to the whole world, proclaim the Good News” within the precincts of home and neighbourhood – perhaps not through preaching at street corners or speakers corner – but through our words and actions and the way we try to live the Good News.
God bless u, Fr.
tessa
Dear Fr Luke,
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed very comforting to know that "that our ultimate yearning can only be fulfilled by the one who has created us in love, and came to show us how to truly love."
So what are we waiting for? We are waiting for the second coming of Christ. We are waiting to return to our Creator. In the meantime, while we are waiting on earth, we have Jesus as our model of love and suffering.
Sometimes it baffles me as to how Jesus could have chosen to be born to die. We human beings are also born to die. But do we choose to be born to die?
I can only conclude that God's love for his children and people is so deep and so great and that He is beyond our human understanding and reasoning.
Because of his immense love and his choice, there is hope for mankind. God has not given up on us. He has not given up on me. I pray that I will persevere and not give up in the face of life's challenges because God is Hope.
Happy advent and happy waiting, everyone!
Eileen