Advent is a time for waiting for the arrival of our Lord. But in another sense, the Lord was never NOT with us. Saint Thomas Aquinas made this point; for “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”(John 1-2) Jesus was with God from the beginning!! Have you thought about that?
So we wait. Waiting because “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.(John 1:14).” Jesus appears to us as an infant, taking on body parts like we have. He eventually suffers as us, until his gruesome death on the cross. All for us. As prophesized in Isaiah, God sends the Messiah.
Our God, who is so participatory, wants us to realize the glory of life and eternity. He nestles our Savior as a small bundle of love. “You, the hidden God, have been found as one of us. You have quietly and inconspicuously taken your place in our ranks and marched along with us.”(Karl Rahner)
Our heavenly Father has taken the time and care to become like us full of promise and hope. We will wait this Advent season for his arrival with awe in our souls.
Sarah Orton Bowen 