During Advent the Church invites us to lift up our eyes and see that our salvation is drawing near. I love the fact that Advent leads us to a tiny baby, all wrapped up, lying in a manger. A small baby – a defenseless baby – a baby utterly dependent upon his parents is the culmination of Advent.
This story resonates with my spirit. I know that I am small in comparison with our universe but why do I have to feel so small, experience a sense of powerlessness, and wonder if I make even the slightest difference in this great, big world? I sometimes feel like the minutest cog in a machine that appears to be able to run just fine with or without me. This frequently leads to a nagging despair and the thought that I do not matter at all.
The nation of Israel certainly felt this way. It was a small country and had a history of being dominated by first one and then another nation. It had a “little guy” complex. In fact, Isaiah refers to the nation as a worm, a maggot (not used in a pejorative sense but in the sense of being small). This was especially true when Israel was taken into captivity. Now we are not only small and insignificant but are also slaves in a foreign land. How much worse could things get?
My family and I lived just a few miles from Northridge, California, when the powerful earthquake of 1994 woke us up with a jolt. For many days thereafter we experienced numerous aftershocks. During one of them I was visiting a man from our church who was on the fifth floor of the local hospital recovering from a heart attack. When that aftershock hit, the building began to sway, a fact that was enhanced because we were toward the top of the building, and my eighty some year old friend with bulging, helpless eyes said, “O, my, what do we do now?” We felt so small and so incredibly helpless as that building rocked back and forth. If you could take a baby, wrap it up so that it cannot move, and then place it in the feeding trough of an animal – well, that is how I felt. A baby may not realize that it is helpless. One of the blessings and curses of adulthood is realizing that this is exactly what you are – helpless.
The message of Isaiah is that the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, is our God and he will grasp us by the hand. The Lord will help us. We may seem small but he will make us like an instrument that can crush mountains and make hills like chaff. The Church, listening to Isaiah and the psalmist, encourages us to lift up our eyes and see the God who is King of this great big world. He is the Lord. And, I have good news: he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness – even to worms and maggots, especially to worms and maggots. He is mighty and his kingdom is glorious but he cares for those to whom Jesus refers to as the least in the kingdom of heaven.
When I have a spell with my own little guy complex, our Advent faith stands my world on its head. It was a little guy, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, who brought to me the very hand of God. We have been grasped by that hand, the hand of an awesome God.
George Butterfield
I served as the Legal Reference Librarian at the Creighton University Law School Library from August, 2007, until August of 2017. I also taught Legal Research to first year law students and Advanced Legal Research to second and third year law students. In August of 2017 I took the position of Director of Evangelization and Catechesis for the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, and served in that capacity until Covid hit and the church staff was cut in half. Recently I took a position with the St. Gerald Catholic Church in Omaha, Nebraska, and my wife and I moved back to the Omaha suburb of Papillion.
My wife, Deb, and I have been married since 1970. She grew up in Oklahoma City and I migrated south from southwestern Pennsylvania. God has blessed us with three children, four living grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. I spent the first thirty years of our marriage as a minister so our family moved a lot. We have lived in several states, including Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and California.
I enjoy walking, reading, listening to audio books, playing with my Pekingnese, Max, my Maltese-Schnauzer, Blaise, and seeing my grandkids grow up. I am a Catholic deacon, having been ordained by Archbishop George Lucas on May 5, 2012.
There is nothing to compare with reflecting on scripture. I feel privileged to participate in these daily reflections. Although we don’t know whether or not St. Francis ever said it, one idea associated with him is that we preach the gospel always and, when necessary, use words. May these reflections be gospel words, good news, of our gracious Lord Jesus Christ.
