December 22

Our sense of joyful anticipation continues to grow as we celebrate the final Sunday of Advent. Embrace the blessings drawing near with this uplifting reflection from Fr. Matthew Carnes, M.Div. ’03, SCU’s vice president for the Division of Mission and Ministry.

Haste … greetings … leaping … joy … blessings …

These words echo in the Gospel reading on this Fourth Sunday of Advent. The time of Advent waiting and preparation is nearly over, and the final hurried efforts and encounters are now at hand. We see Mary traveling in haste to see her cousin Elizabeth, and when they meet, the words of greeting between the two elicit a leaping for joy inside them. The emotions bubble over into words of blessing and good will, with hopes and expectations for the days God has promised of new life that lie ahead.

So too for us, as so many of us make journeys home – or receive those who come to us – and we scurry to prepare gifts and decorations and meals. We open our arms to hug those we have not seen for a while, and we smile and laugh as we recount all that has been happening since we last saw each other. We may find a surprising extra bit of spring in our step, as we let go of our daily grinds and cynicism, even for just a moment, for we know that the opportunity for happiness and shared family and friendship is at hand.  

One of the graces of this time of Advent and Christmas is to give ourselves over to these emotions and experiences, to discover afresh the message that they bring of God’s love, transformation, and blessing. The artist Nick Cave, in his song, “Joy,” sings “we’ve all had too much sorrow / now is the time for joy.” In the face of life’s challenges, society’s anger, and our human suffering, he goes on to  proclaim that “yet the stars stand above the earth / bright, triumphant metaphors of love / blinding us all who care to stand and look beyond.”

We are people called, in this Advent moment, to “stand and look beyond,” to discern the “bright, triumphant metaphors of love” that shimmer – in a new star that rises in the East, as recounted in the Gospels – and in so many others that sparkle around us. Family members we have not seen, friends who reach through our doubts and darknesses, communities that inspire us with their faithfulness and integrity, and a God whose gentle presence has slowly been building within us these last four weeks. Now indeed the waiting is almost over. Now indeed is the time for joy.