 |
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati Main Page || The Catholic Telegraph || Live Letters index |
Live
Letters Third Sunday of
Advent |
The Catholic Telegraph
December 14, 2001The three readings for this Sunday form a series. Isaiah looks forward to the saving advent of the Messiah when the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be cleared. In the gospel reading we see Jesus calling John’s disciples to notice that now, through His ministry, the blind are regaining their sight and the deaf hear. The implication is that the prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled. Then, in our second reading, the author of James invites his readers to be patient because the Lord is going to come still again. God’s word invites us to keep looking forward.
The letter of James seems to be addressed to a group of young churches which have experienced a strong Jewish influence, perhaps because they were evangelized by Christians from Jerusalem. The section that the Lectionary gives us for this Sunday follows immediately on an extended rebuke to the rich for the injustice they inflict on the poor. Now the text addresses itself to the poor. It is divided into three sections.
The first section is the longest. The author calls on his readers to wait with patience for the coming of the Lord. (He uses the term parousia, which would become a technical theological term to signify the final advent of Jesus at the end of time, when He would judge the living and the dead and establish the final stage of His kingdom.) They have to wait as a farmer waits for the harvest that would only come after the two rainy seasons that were included in the growing season. There’s no point in trying to hurry things like that! They should find strength in the assurance that the Lord is on His way and will arrive soon. Their suffering at the hands of their oppressors would then reach a conclusion.
The second section of our reading tells the readers that they have to be patient with one another, too. Interpersonal tensions and judgements about one another are not appropriate. It is not their task to judge. God is the judge and He is already on the way to bring justice to His people.
Finally the author gives another example of patience for his readers to imitate, i.e., the example of the prophets who patiently endured hardship in their mission for the Lord. (It is not clear which prophets the author has in mind here. Perhaps he is offering a general observation as Jesus did in Mt. 5.12.)
Our live letter’s message to us for this Advent Sunday is relatively simple. The Lord is coming again and we have to wait for His coming with patience. It is the Lord who controls the timetable, not we.
Our faith conviction about the coming of the Lord, about Jesus’ parousia has at least two implications for us. The first is that there is a direction and purpose in all of human history. What goes on in this world of ours is not without interest to the Lord, not without meaning for the implementation of God’s plans for human salvation. We are not able to interpret the ultimate significance of the events of human history, but they are not for that reason meaningless. Our faith teaches us that all human activity has a moral dimension, an aspect that connects it with God’s plans for humanity. These plans lead creation to a final fulfillment in which all of created reality will be assumed into the final glory of the risen Christ. All history is somehow salvation history.
Secondly, if this is true in universal history, it is also true in the history of each individual. We are all called to life in Christ. We each have a definitive destiny that involves final consummation in the company of the blessed. That final consummation will come with the final coming of the Lord.
The interim period, the time between now and then, is not necessarily a time of effortless euphoria. In fact, for most of us, this interim time involves struggle and effort and pain. That’s why God’s word calls us to patience. Patience means bearing pain and trial calmly and without complaint.
But Christian patience is not the same thing as resignation. Resignation can be a response to a situation of futility, to a set of circumstances in which there is no meaning, no outcome, no relief. We suffer with resignation because there is nothing else to do, because any other response would constitute a waste of energy. But that’s not the situation of the Christian in the world. No matter how painful our situation may be, we know that the power and love of Christ are strong enough to overcome it. Christ is going to come again, and that’s a source of hope, a reason for looking forward with confidence and gladness to what the Lord has promised. Christian patience, therefore, always includes hope.
Often our attitude toward God, individually and corporately, has a degree of immaturity to it. Are we there yet? How much longer is it going to be? How’s come it’s taking so long? Why can’t we stop now? On this Sunday God’s word quietly invites us to grow up. Be patient! The Lord knows what He is doing and where He is taking us and He’ll get us there at the right time.
###
Conversation Questions.
What aspects of my life require patience?
To what do I look forward from the Lord?
###
Main Page
|| The Catholic Telegraph || Live Letters index
Copyright © 2001 Archdiocese of Cincinnati.