Providentially, Advent takes place in the dark in northern
Minnesota. Many times we start our
day in the dark and come home in the same. This darkness indicates what the Advent season is all
about.
We
live in a world of darkness. We
have seen in the news how a 19 year old is suffering after spending a night
outside in the cold. As a priest I
too frequently see someone taken too quickly, or too tragically. Darkness is all around us.
In
Advent we embrace the darkness. We
seek moments of quiet to listen to God.
We sacrifice, as we do in Lent.
And we try to do extras to serve God and neighbor.
Isaiah,
a prophet of hope, preaches to a people living in the darkness. The Israelites had been ripped from
their homes, deported to a foreign nation and witnessed the destruction of the
temple. Isaiah encourages them, “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says
your God. Speak
tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end…”
We
can always take comfort in God.
Sometimes we act like we need to find God. And this is true—we do need to seek Him. Yet we must remember that before we try
to find Him, He is finding us. He is the Good Shepherd, looking for
the lost sheep.
As
we wait in joyful hope for the coming of Jesus at Christmas, we renew our trust
in Him and take comfort that he finds us.
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