Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year. It is therefore a new beginning. For some people new beginnings represent opportunities and are full of adventure. For others, new beginnings are difficult and are associated with fear and anxiety. Some new beginnings we choose ourselves: for example, a new school, a new job, a new house. Others are forced upon us by circumstances: the pandemic, redundancy, death, becoming a refugee, or seeking asylum.
Change is always difficult, especially changes we did not ask for. In a situation of change it can be difficult to remain hopeful, and God can seem very distant and uncaring. People ask, “Why is God so silent?”
This Sunday’s First Reading gives hope to people who are beginning to despair and doubt God’s promise. They think and feel that God is acting too slowly. Has God abandoned them? The prophet Isaiah offers the exiled Jewish people in Babylon the promise of consolation. Being taken as prisoners into exile was a catastrophe for the people of Israel. It meant becoming slaves again, dispossession and the loss of homeland. All their hopes and expectations were shattered. As they recognise their failings and sin, Isaiah tells his people to continue to trust in God who will lead them from slavery and exile back to the Promised Land. From the wilderness of Babylon, the Lord will lead his people to freedom.
The Gospel offers the hope of a new beginning. This beginning is the birth of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. The birth of a child in a manger at Bethlehem changes the meaning of life and the purpose of time. Jesus Christ offers a new life to those who choose to follow him: a life that culminates in friendship with God. This Christmas, there is no greater gift than God’s friendship.
Although it seems like it sometimes, God is not silent. God is gentle, like a caring shepherd who loves his flock intimately, and is a loving presence in adversity. We hope as Christians that God will bring freedom from whatever enslaves a person. In God’s plan this will happen at the right time for each person. We might feel impatient, but we are called to trust. We may not understand the meaning of an event or the timing, but we are called to believe in God.
To trust in God’s providence requires great faith. Even the disciples who knew Jesus in the flesh struggled to believe in him. We should not lose heart if doubt persists. Any crisis can be a period for deepening faith. The path to becoming a friend of God needs time; different people are at different stages of the journey. God is gentle and does not rush individuals but allows each one to respond in his or her own time. God works in God’s own time (not ours) and in ways that are deeply mysterious.
