Jump to:

• Word to Life • This week's readings

• Pope's Prayer Intentions • Prayer for St. Raphael Cathedral

Advent: Remembering what Christmas is about

	Word to Life  Sharon K. Perkins

As a mother of three children, my annual Christmas preparation tasks - baking, decorating, shopping, and wrapping - are done with them in mind.

Even though the eldest is now 21, I still make their favorite cookies, fill their shoes on St. Nicholas Eve, and generally try to derive maximum delight from limited time and budget. It makes for a busy holiday, but bringing them joy is rewarding work that I look forward to each year.

But I remember that as a child my primary "work" of Christmas preparation was to be on my best behavior. It was drilled into children of my generation through songs, folklore, and movies that Santa's bounty was somehow directly related to our conduct ("He knows if you've been bad or good!"). Thus the heightened anticipation of Christmas morning also carried a message of vigilance and added incentive to "be good."

Third Sunday of Advent (Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006) Zephaniah 3:14-18a Psalm, Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 Philippians 4:4-7 Gospel: Luke 3:10-18

One could read today's passages from Scripture in a similar fashion. If Advent is preparation for the Lord's coming, then it stands to reason that our behavior should reflect our anticipation. Therefore, St. Paul can rightly admonish the Philippian community to make their kindness visible to all, and John the Baptizer can advise tax collectors to stop cheating their clients, because the coming of the Lord is imminent.

But I think another, more profound way for Christians to read these passages is to assume that the Lord isn't simply hiding in the wings, waiting for us to come to our senses and straighten out our lives before he makes his appearance. The Lord - in the crucified and risen person of Jesus - is already here. His "advent," or arrival, is made visible to others precisely in our acts of kindness and generosity.

It's because of his nearness that we can overcome our isolation from one another. It's his self-giving, already present, that conquers our self-centeredness. His light is already peeking under the drawn shutters of our complacency.

	Reflection question • How have you acted as if Christ's coming is still far off? How can his nearness become more visible to those around you during this time of holiday preparations?

The church's celebration of Advent, heightened in this third week of Gaudete Sunday, reminds us to "rejoice" not only in what God will do, but in what God already has done in Christ. Christian discipleship is not a "future rewards" program for good behavior. It is an imperfect yet real manifestation of Christ's power and presence in our lives.

This column is presented in cooperation with the North Texas Catholic of Fort Worth, Texas.