Awaiting the Christ in Advent

Dec 01, 2023

As I was contemplating - Fr Gerard Steve Theraviam

Advent is a time of waiting. As a child, it was all about awaiting Christmas Day itself. That was the ultimate goal! Of course, there were prior preparations to be made — the putting up of the tree and decorations, sending out Christmas cards (an almost forgotten practice today!), caroling, buying of gifts on a tiny schoolboy’s budget…… and all that was great fun! Of course, my mother ensured that we go to Confession as well, something I hadn’t learnt to fully appreciate yet. Advent then meant little to me.

The whole focus was on Christmas Day itself. Having been to midnight Mass, we had supper together and we were then allowed to open just one gift each and the rest would have to await the departure of the very last guest the next day. And sometimes, there was great disquiet and impatience awaiting some friend of my father to finish yet another drink, praying that that was his final one. Those were the days when we had guests over all day long — a true open house where guests never needed an invitation. At the end of the day, we’d have carols playing while we opened gifts again, one per hour, to ensure that we appreciated each and every one — my father was a great one for teaching patience! Try as I did, I struggled to stay up late to make the day last for as long as possible but I never quite made it to midnight as we were all too tired.

The next day, however, I would awake with a deflated feeling. All the anticipation had evaporated into thin air. It was as if grief and depression had set in. After all that hype and expectation, Christmas was over all too quickly! Having to await another 365 days seemed so terrible — but there was nothing one could do about it.

Having grown up, I have subsequently learnt to see Christmas as a season, rather than a single day. The carol about the Twelve Days of Christmas makes more sense now. However, with Epiphany being a moveable feast relegated to the nearest Sunday in our region, we will have an extra day to celebrate since January 6 happens to be a Saturday! Thus, we will get to enjoy the thirteenth day of Christmas!

Christmas is not just recalling the history of a baby born for us but rather, appreciating the Incarnation: God taking on human flesh. It is the mystery of God choosing to be one with us. God enters into human history as a participant rather than as an onlooker or bystander. Even more awesome is that God enters into my own personal history as well!

However, as a priest, it can be hard to really get into the depth of the celebration due to the busy-ness of the season, with daily penitential services all Advent weekdays plus home visits to the sick and the elderly who are housebound. Add to that all the normal workload and special preparations, it is no wonder that when all the liturgical services are over on Christmas Day, I am ready to crash into bed. With my parish feast two days after, there is hardly any time to recover — thus, Christmas may be delayed in terms of my own heart as I put all my energies into making it meaningful and joyful for others, and neglecting my own spiritual needs. Thus, one simply must make an effort to celebrate Advent well, in order that Christmas becomes more meaningful.

However, the Incarnation can truly be experienced daily, not just at Christmas. I remember a priest who used ‘Merry Christmas’ as a greeting throughout the year and I was initially taken aback by this. I gradually came to realise that he was trying to create an awareness of Jesus being born in our hearts and being with us 365 days of the year.

St Bernard of Clairvaux talks of the Three Comings of the Lord. At His first coming, He chose to become a human being, dwelling among us, taking on our humanity, being like us in all things except sin. This was the first Christmas.

We know too that He will come again at the end of time in glory and majesty, ‘to judge the living and the dead.’

Yet the intermediate coming is a hidden one. God shows Himself to those He has chosen and we are saved. We experience Him in the ordinary events of our daily lives. We have His assurance of this in Scripture: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him [Jn. 14:23].

Perhaps we are not always aware of His presence. Yet there are kairos moments when He bursts into our existence in a special visible manner and we are touched deeply. Mostly though, His is a quiet presence that needs us to be quiet to fully discern, appreciate and welcome! No drama, no fanfare, just a subtle quiet presence that brings comfort and quiet joy. Surely this experience of the Incarnation will help us to truly experience Christmas all year long.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

May we know You as EMMANUEL [God-is -with-us!] and bask in Your presence, power, protection, provision and peace!

A blessed Advent everyone!

(Fr Gerard Theraviam is the Parish Priest of the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the Spiritual Director to the World Community for Christian Meditation, Malaysia.)