Advent Reflection: The Tenderness of God
Advent liturgies are striking because their common theme is the tenderness of God wrapped up in a healthy call to repentance, and the Third Sunday of Advent is no exception. Throughout this season, images of God’s mercy are a balm to the soul. The reading for the Second Sunday of Advent opens with “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated” (Is 40:1-2). In this, the Third Sunday of Advent, the Lord promises, “to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God” (Lk 4:18). Other liturgies throughout Advent contain such treasured words as “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest,” (Mt 11:28) and, “He will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces” (Is 25:8). Throughout salvation history, Israel is caught in the captivity of their own sin with no way to put themselves in right relationship with God, but He offers them hope.
These promises of God are long-awaited. Indeed, they are ached for and pined after from the depths of Israel’s heart. Advent opens with the angst of the prophet Isaiah, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,” (Is 63:19b) and his mourning, “all of us have become like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our guilt carries us away like the wind” (Is 64:5). It is the weight of Israel’s shame that makes them long for the freedom the Messiah can bring.
God promises us His deep tenderness and His incredible care. But what is the problem we see in the Gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent? The Gospel says the Lord was there among the people, but they did not recognize Him. This man is the one promised of and ached for in Isaiah. He is the bringer of peace and the pledge of life eternal. He is the fulfillment of man’s deepest hopes and greatest desires. And yet they do not recognize Him. This is a tragic mistake.
May we not find ourselves making the same mistake this Advent. Lord, let us take to heart the promises you have made. Make us cry out for you to “rend the heavens and come down.” May we see our need for you, our savior, our comforter, our giver of freedom. Remove all obstacles in our hearts that keep us from recognizing You and Your mercy in our lives. In doing so, may we be what St. Paul desires for the Thessalonians: “May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes 5:23).
