Advent

WALKING IN LIFE

Lovely day, gentle fall weather –

clear blue sky – cool air –

light breeze – bright sunshine

highlight slowly turning leaves.

I feel the calm – soothes me –

clashes with my feelings inside –

worries – cares of life –

I face a pending ambulatory operation –

not too serious – but still surgery.

Financial cares – What to do?

What not to do? Decisions to be

made – I feel them on my shoulders.

Walk in the fall sunshine

helps me – washes me – soothes me.

At times in life, so much falls on me.

It makes it hard to breath.

Sunshine reminds me of something –

do not let life get you down –

Jesus is in charge – I put all

my cares in his hands.

He knows them already.

But I give them to Jesus –

I know he loves me – he never

let me down – will not do

it now either.

Robert Trabold

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ADVENT

Robert Trabold

            When November comes around in our calendar, we notice that the days get shorter and we no have the long ones of summer.  Everything in the garden slows down.  The annuals slowly die in the cool weather and leave their seeds for next year’s growth.  The perennials slowly lose their flowers and leaves and wait for the spring to start again.  The trees lose their leaves and we can see the stars through their bare branches in the night. When we leave our work at 5 PM, it is already dark or getting there and we do not have the nicety of going home in the daylight. We shut down our garden and move away our furniture which will be used again in the springtime. Darkness comes earlier each day and we now spend more time indoors where we have light and heat. 

            The coming of the darkness has also a spiritual significance. Experiencing the darkness awakens in us a desire to have the dawn and light come again. Darkness has a sense of mystery which surrounds us and touches us.  It is symbolic of the mystery of God who is completely other and transcendent and about whom we really can say nothing. Yet the divine is the ground of our being and the source of our life on earth.  It is also present in the universe with its enormity and uncountable stars and planets and which just keeps on growing after the big bang. When we look at the winter sky with its many stars, we feel the mystery of the expansive universe and of our place in such a vastness.  The darkness of the autumn and the coming wintertime is also symbolic of the darkness of our life on earth and in the world. As human beings we yearn for a world of justice and peace, but our daily life tells and shows us that the earth is far from this.  We are constantly plagued by violence, hatred and injustices.  Each day on the television and in the newspapers, we read about endless wars which consume millions of innocent people and of hatred between groups which starts such violence.  It is painful to see our country involved in such wars which never end and whose rational is questionable. We participate in social movements to address these issues and at times, we feel that we are climbing up a never ending mountain of injustices and violence.  Against these realities, it is easy to give up hope and our dream of a better world.

            But the darkness of the autumn and of Advent also awakens in us the hope and desire that someday there will be a light glimmering in this darkness and promises us salvation from the problems surrounding us and our world.  This glimmering light appeared over 2000 years ago in Bethlehem and comes back every year to illuminate our life. At that time, the world was also dark with violence and injustices. People had to come to grips with the darkness in their personal lives and the life of the world. Things were not easy then. In some obscure corner of the world, in a poor small town, a child was born who was to be a sign of a new hope and world.  Men and women no longer have to be trapped in their own sins and selfishness and the violence and injustices of the world.  A savior was born who would show us the way to live in another way and bring justice and peace to a war torn world. There is now a light that shines in the darkness all around us.  This is why Advent time is a time of extra prayer and penance where we try to prepare ourselves for the coming of this light, Jesus Christ.  God has been good to us and has not let us sit in the dark with the intractable problems of our personal life and that of the world.  The light that has appeared shows us a way out and we have to prepare ourselves to receive the savior Jesus and to apply his teachings to our life and to continue our protest movements which confront the evil in the world. This is not easy endeavor but one that is very important and gives us hope for our lives now and in the future.

            The darkness of the autumn and Advent is mysterious and hangs over us each day. But it need not drag us down because we see the light at the end of the tunnel. The light of the Christmas season brings us so much joy and hope for ourselves and our world.