A friend from a University far, far away sent me this question for possible use in the University newspaper. My answer is perhaps a little wordy,... but you might be able to get through the chaff to find a grain of wheat or two.
1) What does Advent mean to you?
Mostly it means I am running out of time. Most concretely this happens
when I realize I want to get thoughtful presents for my nieces and nephews. I
have a few weeks. But the time runs out, so I end up depending on Amazon expedited shipping to get me out of a
jam. How superficial you say! Maybe, but giving a gift is noble in itself, and
rightly a Christmas thing; yet we postpone the opportunities. On another level, (analogously for the theologically minded), I know I am supposed to prepare in
some way to be able to celebrate the mysteries of Christmas. Christmas is like
the liturgical road-block that reminds us we have to recover the heart of a
child in order to know Jesus and enter into his Kingdom. And every year I find myself facing
the approach of the 25th wishing that Christian insight and simplicity of heart
could come by expedited shipping. I should have meditated the Gospel more,
spent more time with the Blessed Sacrament, been more conscious of ways to help
the poor. Time runs out, though, and the liturgical roadblock starts looking
like a vehicle rushing in my direction. Jesus is coming again. I am not just
heading to meet him. He is moving towards me. I sense him coming from afar.
Time is a gift. Don't let it slip away. When he comes, it will be simple. It
wasn't all about me after all. There will be joy. The hand of glory comes by
way of the fingered blessing of a child.
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