Sunday of the first week of Advent: The Journey Begins

Presence

I pause for a moment, aware that God is here.

I think of how everything around me,

the air I breathe, my whole body,

is tingling with the presence of God.

Scripture

Jeremiah 33:14-16

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Reflection

In these deeply troubled times, it is hard to imagine a world in which we might “live in safety”. We can feel paralysed by inertia as we observe the horrors of war, the burning of our planet, and a sometimes all-encompassing nihilism. It may seem an inauspicious time to start a journey into the unknown. Yet, that is exactly what we plan to do, and we need not make it alone.  

“The Dark Night of the Soul”, was written by the great 16th century Spanish mystic, St John of the Cross.  His book is as relevant today as it was four and a half centuries ago.  Despite the gloomy title, John offered immense reassurance for a 21st century readership. He insists that it is when we are most fearful, most apathetic, most listless, we should not despair. Instead, we should consider this terrible state as a great happiness, “since God is freeing you from yourself and taking the matter out of your hands. For with those hands, however well they may serve you, you could never progress so effectively, so perfectly and so securely as now, when God takes your hand and guides you in the darkness, as though you were blind, along a road to a destination you do not know.” 

Prayer

Lord, give me the courage to place my Advent journey entirely in your hands and allow myself to be led by your promptings.  Help me sweep away all images and thoughts of you to meet you in the darkness and obscurity of pure faith.

Amen

Glory to you, Father, source of all being,

to you, Jesus, Word made flesh,

to you Holy Spirit, Comforter,

as it was before time began,

is now and shall be into the future.

Amen.