Today marks the beginning of the holy season of Advent. The Lord is coming. And in today’s Gospel we hear references to various signs: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars.” But when we see these things happening, Jesus tells us, “Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” Notice that he doesn’t say, devote your attention to the signs. Nor does he say, interpret my words in light of what the signs suggest. Rather, he says, be vigilant… and pray. Be vigilant and pray to whom? God. Jesus himself.
Signs, by their very nature, are visible and perceptible. This is why they are so appealing to us. They are accessible to our senses, imagination, and recognition. Signs operate on our level of understanding and experience. And this is why God can employ visible signs to teach us about the invisible mysteries—the supernatural realities—that exceed our native grasp.
Nonetheless, saving faith is not built upon human verification or interpretation. Man is not saved by signs alone. Rather, God is the author of our salvation. Divine reality—even when it eludes empirical verification—is the foundation of human salvation and saving faith.
The divine reality that underlies theological faith is absolutely critical for human salvation. Why? There are times when “signs” can seemingly suggest that the realities of faith are not true, that God is not real, that salvation is not possible. When we encounter troubling things like sin, scandal, suffering, and death, we can be tempted to take these as signs that invalidate the gospel of Jesus. When unpleasant signs appear, however, we remember the words of Our Lord: be vigilant at all times and pray. In other words, live by faith.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that “faith is first of all a personal adherence to God and assent to his truth.” Thus, “Christian faith differs from our faith in any human person. It is right and just to entrust oneself wholly to God and to believe absolutely what he says” (CCC no. 150). The “formal object” or motivation that informs faith is simple: God revealing. God, who is the truth, who is the highest reality, tells us the saving truth about his divine reality. God is the object of faith. Only God’s revelation of who he is and what he does can save us from the fragility of our brokenness.
Otherwise expressed: when we live by faith, we do not verify God’s revelation of himself in light of our experience of signs. Rather we interpret all things in light of what God has revealed. God is the Truth. He neither deceives nor can he be deceived. The knowledge that we have from God is infinitely more sure, certain, and reliable than any phenomena that could draw our attention away from God.
Therefore, at the beginning of Advent, we thank God for giving himself to us in the Incarnation. We are not distracted by the various signs present in the world today. Is sin real? Yes. Do scandals happen? Yes. Can tragedy strike? Yes. But such unfortunate phenomena do not draw the gaze of the Christian away from the foundation of saving faith: God himself. What does the Christian do when bad signs appear in the world around us? The Christian stays awake and prays—to God. The author of our salvation.
Thus, at the beginning of Advent (when we prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus), we thank God for not giving us a collection of signs but rather the fullness of divine reality. We ask the Lord to prepare our hearts to receive his divine reality fully. And, of course, we pray for members of the Church who may have drifted away from Our Lord in their personal lives. Nonetheless, no matter what happens, we do not lose hope, because we know that God himself is the cause and formal object of faith. And God never deceives or fails.
What God has revealed to us remains certain and sure even when signs fail. And what has God revealed to us? Jesus comes to save sinners.
