Advent is the time of waiting. Waiting patiently was the hallmark of the biblical people. In Old Testament times God’s people went through hundreds of years of suffering, persecution, oppression and injustice. What kinds of prayers did they pray during those times? They said things like ‘I wait eagerly for the Lord’s help’ (Psalm 130:5). It’s not that they didn’t get impatient sometimes; every now and again you read prayers like ‘How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?’ But they waited!
We are asked to wait. Wait for what? Wait for Christmas? Well, in fact, waiting for Christmas is not the main theme of Advent. Advent is mainly about Jesus’ promised appearance at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, and to establish the Kingdom of God forever. So in Advent we look forward with hope and expectation to that time when God’s purposes for his creation will finally become the only reality. Hence, Advent is the time of waiting for the coming of the Lord, not mere preparation to celebrate Christmas.
The coming of the Lord has three dimensions or three phases, namely the Jesus who came in the past, the Jesus who will come in the future and the Jesus who comes in the present, in our daily lives. In the Bible and in the faith tradition of the Church we meet the Christ who has come. In the future which is unknown to us we will meet the Jesus who will come. In our day today life we are invited to meet the Jesus who comes.
The two key words in today’s Gospel are WATCH and WAIT! Let us begin with the word WAIT. What do we wait for? Obviously we wait for the return of the Lord and the full realization of His Kingdom. As we wait we are to keep WATCH over two things: the first, watch over the condition of our own lives. Peter says ‘beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish’ (2 Peter 3:11-12, 14). The second, we are expected to keep watch so that we don’t miss the present coming of Jesus. Often his coming in the present is paradoxical, humble, quiet and disguised in the poor, in the oppressed, in the needy, the refugees and in our so called enemies. If we fail to love him in these disguised forms, our waiting for his future coming is a waste and our hope is lost! Waiting on the needy should be our way of waiting for the coming of our Lord!
There is a story told of a state legislature in Colonial New England. The members were being thrown into a panic by a solar eclipse, because they didn’t know what it was. People were running around here and there, and several members of the legislature moved to adjourn the session because the second coming of the Lord was at hand. But one of the speakers stood up and said this: “Mr. Speaker, if it is not the end of the world and we adjourn, we shall appear to be fools. If it is the end of the world, I should choose to be found doing my duty. I move, sir, that candles be brought in”. This, I believe, is the true Christian way. In whatever situation we live, we must make sure we are busy doing what he has asked as to do!