On the night before Halloween this year, I made a trip to Wal-Mart. I would be down at St. John's the next day, and I knew from last year that everyone dresses up for Halloween to some extent.
I didn't want to do anything too complicated so I decided I would dress as a bishop. I would wear a suit jacket and then go find some fake cross from a Monk costume and color it gold or silver. I even got a "Hello, My Name Is ..." sticker and wrote "BISHOP" on it.
That was my last minute plan. But when I got to Wal-Mart at ten o'clock that night and went to the Halloween section to look for a cross, I discovered something I didn't expect.
It certainly wasn't Halloween costumes.
It wasn't even turkeys or pilgrims for Thanksgiving.
It was Christmas decorations. On October 30th.
That night, it really hit home for me why the Church celebrates the beautiful season of Advent.
Advent is about waiting, it's about anticipating.
Waiting, for two particular things.
You'll notice from the readings today that we're not talking about the birth of Jesus. There is no manger, no shepherds, and no angels singing, "Gloria!" We're looking at scriptures that point us towards the Second Coming, when Christ will return in glory and all the promises of the Kingdom will be fulfilled.
That's what the first part of Advent is all about - looking forward to that very real time when Christ will come again.
Then, in the second part of Advent, as we get closer to Christmas, we'll start to hear those familiar stories surrounding the first coming of Jesus.
The common thread that weaves these two things together is our attitude of quietly watching and waiting.
Look around, and you'll see that the Church isn't decked out with Christmas trees yet. That's because we aren't quite there, we're still on the way, still waiting.
This should be a season when all of us take stock of our lives and reorient ourselves towards the true reason behind everything we do.
Christ came into the world once, quietly, humbly. He will come again in glory.
But in the meantime, we need to prepare ourselves. We need to live in anticipation of God breaking into our everyday lives and revealing Himself.
Of course we all want to get to the end: we want to unwrap the present, we want to see the reality of God right now. But we are on God's time, not our own. And the time He's given us is for our benefit.
Advent is a chance for us, every year, to stop. To ask ourselves, "Am I happy with my relationship with God? What is lacking? Is loving and serving God my priority? Or does it disappear into the background of my life?"
In the Gospel, Jesus says, "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy ..." It's true that our lives can make us physically and mentally tired or drowsy, but our spiritual lives are also affected. We become numb to the incredible reality that God, the almighty being who made us, wants us to know Him - to be in a relationship with Him.
This pausing, this waiting, can help us to see more clearly what we need to change for that relationship to grow; as well as making us appreciate just how much we are loved.
Even if your house is already decorated, if the tree is up, and you've been playing Christmas music since Halloween - in your heart, wait.
Don't rush it. Don't open the present before it's time.
Maybe get an Advent wreath and, every Sunday as you light a new candle, meditate on what God has done for us.
Make a commitment to pray the Rosary and, with Mary, ponder the great mysteries of Jesus' life.
Try to come to Mass during the week as much as you are able.
Whatever it is, stop yourself from wasting this season.
We've been given this opportunity, starting right now, to begin again. To point our lives back towards our real goal - a life in union with God.
Take your time with Advent. Think about the love God has shown us when Jesus came the first time, and look forward to the full revelation of love when Jesus comes again.
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