“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I am often intrigued when I read the Gospel passages where Jesus states that well people don’t need a doctor, sick people do. When I see that, I often say to myself, “Well, duh. Of course!” It seems to be so intuitive but to the people to whom Jesus was speaking, it was far from intuitive. To them, the “sick” people, those who had problems, those who labored, those who were just not well off, were in the state that they were in because of sin. Either they were sinners or their parents were sinners or their parents’ parents were sinners and right down the line.
People saw sickness, tragedy, and death as a consequence of the sinful lives others led. So, when Jesus associated with sinners, they could not figure out why. In their own minds, Jesus should know better. He should avoid the sinners so that He wouldn’t sully Himself. That was what many thought.
Jesus would have none of that. He knew His mission, the mission given to Him by His Father, and he was going to embrace that mission to the very end. The mission was to heal the sick, raise the dead, and to announce a year of favor from the Lord. Jesus came to tell people, all people, that they were loved.
We often have a hard time with that. When we see ourselves weak and sinful, we do not often love ourselves. We wallow in shame, doubt, confusion, or fear. We think that there is no hope for ourselves, that no one could love us, including God, and that we are unredeemable. God doesn’t think that; but, we do.
Hence, when Advent comes around, those who are troubled in soul, who are weak, poor, and imperfect — that’s you and me, my friends! — are invited to take a second look, a more critical look at themselves and see what God sees. God doesn’t see dirt, death, and decay. God sees light, love, and perfection. He can remake us if we let Him.
So we look forward to something greater to come, the day that Jesus returns, perfects us, and takes us home. That is definitely worth the wait of the Advent of our lives.
FAITH ACTION: Don’t wallow in your weakness. Instead, accept who you are and ask God for the grace to change.