More Advent Reflections

Having just read some of John Michael Talbot’s personal reflections on Advent, there have been some more things stirred up in me about Advent.

Actually, Advent itself has that effect on me. It constantly stirs things up in me to think about causing me to reflect. Sometimes those reflections on new to me, but more often they are reflections on familiar thoughts but with more brilliance or more… I don’t know… something.

Very often, my reflections during Advent are rather melancholy. Such thoughts usually focus on what it was Jesus initiated by coming to earth that has yet to be completed. Lately, much of that seems to center on the condition of the Church in the world today. It seems that, fairly regularly over the past several months or even years, I have been saddened and frustrated by and critical of and sometimes cynical towards the Church. I’m frustrated at what seems obviously wrong-headed to me about the Church – Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox. But it has been pointed out to me (once by a friend and once by my wife) that I am too critical and that the kind and manner of my criticism may very well be a symptom of arrogance.

And I have to agree with them.

The Church is not yet perfect. It’s broken because it’s full of broken people who have not yet been perfectly healed and restored to the image of Jesus. I know it will be, one day, but not until all of Creation is perfected. It’s not a case of which comes first – the perfecting of the Church or the perfecting of Creation. They will both be perfected when Christ comes again. I/We just have to wait until the mystery of Christ has been fully revealed – Christ has died; Christ has risen; Christ will come again. We’ve got two of the three. It’s that third part for which we/I have got to patiently and faithfully wait.

The message of Advent, or at least one of the messages of Advent is precisely that. Because Christ has already come once, we can count on him to come again.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.