The Fourth Sunday of Advent is always my favorite (except when it falls on Dec. 24th, in which case it is every priest’s nightmare). This Sunday is important because it keeps us in Advent just a little longer, reminding us to cultivate that anticipation that will make Christmas Day seem so sweet. We are almost at the end of the Advent journey, but there is still some work of preparation needed. On this day, we go in haste with Mary into the hill country of Judea. Like Mary, we are aware of the joyful news that the Messiah is soon to be born. We already know the story well. We also join Elizabeth in her surprise as the good news of salvation is brought to her. Though the story is familiar, we are being invited to an ever more profound understanding of the mystery.
Advent is a season of discovery. We are invited to hear the voice of St. John the Baptist, the one crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” This season of preparation allows us to examine our lives and discover those habits or attitudes that may have accumulated, making the path for Jesus to come to us a bit rough. In Advent, we have been called to turn away from sin, to clean out our souls so as to become a fit dwelling place for the Lord. And so there is an element of the Advent season that is for our own self-discovery. That self-discovery, though, is not an end in itself. Rather, discovering ourselves, we hopefully realize who we really are, that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that we carry in ourselves the image and likeness of God, that we are made for God and, to paraphrase St. Augustine, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. In this way, Advent leads us to Christmas.
The celebration of our Lord’s Nativity is replete with evocative imagery. The shepherds are met by angels who send them on their way to Bethlehem, where they discover the Christ child lying in a manger. The Magi see the star and embark on a journey to discover the meaning of this great heavenly sign. We who celebrate are invited to the manger ourselves, to discover Christ waiting for us, also. In this celebration we might come to a deeper awareness of what our Catholic faith means and how the mystery of the Nativity extends in space, time, and sacrament. Christ laid in a manger and the shepherds adored Him. He remains present for us now in the Eucharist, and we are invited to adore Him, both in the Tabernacle in the church, as we receive Him in Holy Communion, and when He is exposed in the Monstrance in Adoration. Christmas invites us to discover Jesus Christ.
There is one additional element of discovery that has been on my heart the last few days. That is that the notion of discovery is not one-sided. While I am able to discover new ways of finding Jesus, new insight into His plan for me, new ways I can make the path level for Him, our Lord in a reciprocal way, also discovers me. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who places the wandering sheep on his shoulders. Jesus, the Word made flesh, breaks into our human history, our time and our space. He comes to seek us. Like Elizabeth encountering her cousin Mary, we can joyfully celebrate that our Lord has come to us, has discovered us, has come to make our joy complete. When His search for us, His wandering creation, is met by our search for Him, the discovery is made complete. Jesus wants to find us, but so often we hide behind our status, our bad habits, our conviction that we could never be good enough for Him. May our celebration of Christmas be an invitation to come out from hiding, to allow Jesus to see us, even with our imperfections, and to experience being found by the God who comes to us with mercy.
