I love Advent. It always seems so hopeful. It leads into the joys of Christmas. It’s almost semester break. New beginnings are on the horizon. I became Catholic at Advent (instead of Easter), and that was an important beginning for me and one that affected the rest of my life. The reading from Isaiah talks about the importance of this new beginning. Something totally new and totally different is coming: Not just a new birth, not just any baby, but a new idea. Everything will be different. He will rule with wisdom, filled with the spirit of the Lord. He will look beyond appearances and will see into the soul. He will be just. And the world will be changed. Enemies will get along, and the world will be at peace.
The psalm reiterates this time of peace and belonging. The poor will have justice, the wicked will be held to account, and peace will prevail. Unfortunately, we are not currently living in this peaceable kingdom. Advent is a season of waiting and hoping. I heard a wonderful Advent sermon a few years ago about how Advent is even more about the second coming than the first coming.
The first coming was amazing and perhaps the most important thing ever. And it did change the world. But enemies are still not getting along. And the world is not at peace. The poor do not have justice and the wicked are not held to account. Not in this world.
But Advent is still a time of hope. In this season of hope and waiting, we are still waiting for that justice and that peace, and a promise of better days to come
Tamora Whitney
I teach in the English department. I teach composition and literature and Critical Issues -- a class that has a component on Jesuit values.
I like writing these reflections because it makes me think more deeply about the scripture and think about how to integrate the ideas into my own life and how to share these ideas with others.
