From Season to Season

  Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." —Luke 1:38 The Gospels do not relate a single word spoken by Joseph, the husband of Mary. He is a silent, protecting figure standing in the shadows during the Season of Advent, coming into view only in the final days of this season of watching and waiting. And, while we do hear from Mary in the gospels of Luke and John, few of her words have come down to us.  Despite the fact that we hear so little from the parents of Jesus, we can nevertheless recognize one particular virtue that both shared: obedience.  “Obedience” isn’t a particularly popular word in our culture, including within the Church. Sadly, too many people have to come to associate obedience with some sort of blind submission. Instead, if we look at the history of the word, we see that it comes from two Latin words, ob and audire , and our English word “obedience” means to listen or to hear.  This sense of l...

Advent is a season of contradictions and juxtapositions.  This is the season of "already" but "not yet," as we prepare for the coming-in-fullness of the One who has already been born into time and history.  This is the dark season when we watch and wait from the dawning of the One who is  the Light of the World, lighting the candles of the Advent wreath and praying in the Magnificat antiphon for December 21:  O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:  Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.   This theme of light is a fundamental part of our prayer in these Advent days and we recall John the Baptist, the great prophet of Advent, testifying to the coming of this light (see John 1:6-9 ).  This is the light of the Lord that illumines the darkened heart of a sin- and war-weary world.  Reflecting on this, Quaker writer Isaac Pennington wrote, “But of what nature is this light, which shineth in man in his...

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near. - Philippians 4:4-5; Entrance Antiphon for  the Third Sunday of Advent On this Third Sunday of Advent, the Church gives us a very particular mandate: Rejoice! And, during these pre-Christmas days, it seems that there is joy all around us. And yet, the essayist William Stringfellow makes a poignant observation that should give us pause: “For the greeting card sentiment and sermonic rhetoric, I do not think that much rejoicing happens around Christmastime, least of all about the coming of the Lord. There is, I notice, a lot of holiday frolicking, but that is not the same as rejoicing. In any case, maybe the outbursts of either frolicking and rejoicing are premature, if John the Baptist has credibility. He identifies repentance as the sentiment of Advent” (from Advent as a Penitential Season). The themes of judgment, repentance, and salvation preached by John the Baptist seem to be at odds with the spirit of C...

I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bride adorned with her jewels. - Isaiah 61:10, Entrance Antiphon for the  Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception When, in 1854, Blessed Pope Pius IX solemnly defined the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he was giving full voice to an ancient and venerable tradition: “The Virgin Mary, in the first moment of her conception, by a singular privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin” ( Ineffabilis Deus ).  Although it might seem out of place in the quiet, dark procession of these Advent days, this celebration of the Immaculate Conception, embodies the promise of Advent. “In this feast,” Henri Nouwen, “it seems that all the quiet beauty of Advent suddenly bursts forth into exuberance and ...

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert:  “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. —Mark 1:2-4 Advent is a complicated season. I’m tempted to say that this is the most complex season of the Church Year. Advent presumes that we Christians have been formed in an adult faith that is prepared to celebrate an adult Christmas. And, as we know, Advent isn’t a season that is focused only on the past, because this is the time we focus our attention on One who is among us right now and who will come in glory in the future. Although Advent is a season of hope, hope seems to be in short supply these days. So, as I was reflecting on this Sunday's readings , I thought about what hope might mean for our Church and the world. In this, I realized that I was making a mi...

"Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'" ”     —Mark 13:35-37 “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” or so says the cheery holiday song by Meredith Wilson. And yet, when we enter our parish churches on Sunday, we won’t be greeted by Christmas trees and poinsettias or lift our voices in joyful hymns singing “glory to the Newborn King.” Instead, we will hear a “crisis mode” Gospel ( Mark 13:33-37 ) that calls us to vigilance, watchfulness, and prayer. It is certainly a disconnect. Unfortunately, for too many of us, Advent is a sort of pre-Christmas season that only thinly veils the all-out joy of Christmas. But with this Sunday’s readings and prayers , the Church is reminding us that there is much more to Advent than just anticipating the birthday of Jesus. ...

His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.'" —Matthew 5:21 As the Church year comes to an end, a single point is brought into sharp focus: we’re waiting for the fulfillment of time and of hope-filled promises of an untold future. We are awaiting the return of Christ.  As we know, in the final weeks of the liturgical year, “end times” readings permeate our liturgical worship to a point that might seem unnecessarily negative and even macabre, especially for those Christians who have had the threat of judgment used as a weapon against them, like a divine hammer hovering always just above their heads, and ready to strike. The liturgical texts for the end of the Church year, like the “Parable of the Talents” ( Matthew 25:14–30 ) and the “Lesson of the Fig Tree” ( Mark 13:28–32 ), offer us important insights into what our expectan...