Is 2:1-5; Rom 13:11-14; Mt
24:37-44
On a mountain of Northern Vietnam,
there is a rock that appears like the image of woman bearing a child in her
arms looking toward the horizon like waiting for someone. This image is
especially striking at sunset and sunrise, bringing about indescribable
emotions to all who have ever looked up to that mountain and admired the
waiting woman.
This rock became a source of
inspiration for several legends in Vietnam about women waiting for husbands.
A Long time ago, in a small
village, there was a young couple who had been living happily together. The
young wife had just given birth to a child when a large army invaded their
land. The King then called for all young men to join the military to fight the
invaders. The young husband, complied with the order of the King, went to the
frontier. The young wife waited for her husband to return. Months and years passed
but her husband never came back. She decided to climb up to the top of a
mountain to watch for her husband. There she stood, the small child in her
arms, looking toward the frontier, expecting her husband to return. She stood
there days after days and nights after nights. Rivers and mountains near and
far heard of her story and pitied her. They wanted to counsel her to return
home so they went in flock to visit her, forming a long mountain range that now
runs throughout Vietnam (the Trường Sơn mountain range). As years passed by
time set her body into stone. But her soul lived on and there she stood waiting
forever.
History of salvation is a story of
promises and the long and continuous waiting for the fulfilment of the
promises.
When Adam and Eve defected the
Paradise God promised a mediator. He promise to save Noah and his family from
the flood (Gen 6:18). He promised to Abraham that He would make Abram into a
great nation. (Gen 12:2). He promised to Israelites that He would deliver them
from the bondage in Egypt. He promised the wandering Israelites a land flowing with
milk and honey. Once they were settled, He promised them a King, and a temple
to worship Him. He promised to David that his kingdom would be established for
ever. The promises continued through the prophets. He promised through the
prophet Jeremiah a New Covenant. (Jer 31:31-34), and the great promise of a
saviour came from Prophet Isaiah. “This young woman will give birth to a son. She
will name him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14).
The year of the liturgical
calendar starts with the season of Advent. The season of Advent is a season of
expectant waiting. The Latin word “adventus” means “coming”. So in the season
of Advent we are waiting for the coming of some one. The coming of the saviour.
All the three readings of today
describe the manner how our waiting should be! The waiting of a Christian is
not a passive waiting devoid of any creative activity. It is not a waiting in laziness. But this
waiting is an invitation to walk in the ways of the Lord – the way of justice,
the way of charity, the way of forgiveness, the way of simplicity and the way
of altruism.
In the first reading we hear the
invitation of Prophet Isaiah:
“Come let us go to the mountain of
the Lord,
To the temple of the God of Jacob
That he may teach us his ways
So that we may walk in his paths.
O House of Jacob, come,
Let us walk in the light of the
Lord.”
So, Advent is a time of invitation
to walk in the light.
For St. Paul night time is the
symbol of nefarious activities, and day time stands for the time when we do
good. St Paul wrote to the Christians of Rome:
“Let us live decently as people do
in the daytime;
No drunken orgies,
No promiscuity or licentiousness
And no wrangling or jealousy.”
Secondly, Advent is a time of
invitation to be engaged in action. In the mind of Paul the whole life of a
Christian is waiting to meet Jesus. It is not a call to be passive and do nothing.
But it is a call to be actively engaged in the daily affairs of life. To be
instruments in the hands of God. God worked among His people through the medium
of chosen people. Moses was chosen to be an instrument to lead the Israelites
from the bondage in Egypt to freedom. Ehud was sent to protect them from the
Moabites (Judges 315). Samson was an instrument at the hands of God to deliver
His people from the oppression of the Philistines. Nehemiah was sent to rebuild
the temple. Today we are the instruments at the hands of God. So, Advent is an
invitation to constantly strive to achieve our goal. As Robert William Service
puts it, “Striving is strength: with all that's in me I will not falter in the
fray.”
Do not allow passivity to creeps
into our lives and falter in the fray. .An idle mind is the devil’s workshop,”
says the proverb.
John F. Kennedy is said to be very
fond of a particular story. During his 1960 presidential campaign he often used
it to close his speeches. It is the story of Colonel Davenport, Speaker of the
Connecticut House of Representatives back in 1789. One day, while the House was
in session, the sky of Hartford suddenly grew dark and gloomy. Some of the
representatives looked out and thought that was a sign that the end of the
world had come. Uproar ensued with the representatives calling for immediate
adjournment. But Davenport rose and said, “Gentlemen, the Day of Judgment is
either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for
adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish
that candles be brought.” Candles were brought and the session continued.
Thirdly, Advent is an invitation
to be vigilant. In today’s Gospel passage Jesus insists on watchfulness.
“Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the
mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you
do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of
the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have
stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be
prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
The Lord’s coming will be a
surprise for many, as the “thief in the night.” But for those who heed the
warnings of Scripture, the “Day” will not overtake them as a thief, because
they will be ready for His coming, though we don’t know when it will be.
In the season of Advent the Church
wants us to go through life, watchful, active and joyful.