NOVEMBER 23
This Wednesday at the Advent Study we reflected upon how Advent is not merely a countdown to Christmas. Perhaps because secular Christmas is so overwhelming in our society, Advent in the church has evolved into being the prequel of Christmas, but this misses the deeper meaning of Advent.
Advent is the longing for the coming of Christ and his kingdom, and it is not solely about the first coming at Bethlehem. The world experienced the first coming of Christ at Bethlehem, but now we yearn for the Second Advent, when Christ’s kingdom of justice, peace, and mercy shall conquer the many problems and challenges of our existence. Advent is not merely preparing to give gifts and feast with family, but it is the yearning and dreaming for God’s justice in the world.
The war grinds on in Ukraine, and we witness daily in the media the massive destruction and carnage between Israelis and Palestinians. At home in the Islands people continue to suffer after the fires in Lahaina, and homelessness still bedevils our neighborhoods. What was common in Kapahulu is now common among the plush lawns and mansions of Kahala and Diamond Head. With the numbers of unsheltered people increasing, the neighborhoods outside of Kapahulu can no longer push their undesirables away, as Kapahulu is at capacity, lacking room in the inn.
Amid all the glamour of secular Christmas, with its heretical over-focus on family, food, and commercial spending, the season of Advent proclaims that Jesus comes to save and comfort the undesirables, as well as the innocent victims of warfare, bringing about an everlasting kingdom of peace, justice, and mercy.
This year Advent officially begins on December 3, but the themes of Advent each year begin in early November. We have been hearing about the Advent of Christ in the Gospel parables on Sundays. The bridesmaids are admonished to trim their lamps, and the slaves have been investing their Master’s talents, waiting for his return. This Sunday we discover that Christ comes to us in the hungry, thirsty, imprisoned, and naked. The Kingdom of Christ is strange compared to the kingdoms of our world.
This Sunday the church celebrates Christ the King Sunday, and each year on this particular Sunday our diocese celebrates the Holy Sovereigns, Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV. They were monarchs who exemplified true service to their people, founding a hospital, our diocese, and schools. They knew that their kingdom was to strive to be like Christ’s kingdom.
Observing Advent authentically requires significant spiritual discipline. Each one of us must balance what following Christ requires with what the world demands of us. The good news is that it is strikingly evident that the ways of the world are failing our society. Only the advent of Christ’s kingdom can inaugurate the peace and justice that can heal the world’s pain and solve our society’s problems.
Blessings,
Father Paul Lillie +
