My friends, here we are at the second Sunday of Advent, and we know that means that the fourth Sunday will be upon us sooner than we think—and even quicker as that same fourth Sunday will be shared with Christmas Eve this year.  Last week I suggested to all of us that we can “wait expectantly,” which is what Advent is really all about, and make cookies at the same time, or whatever other preparations you may be about this time of year!

   Advent reminds us friends, through the Scripture readings that it is good, “to set something aside” for a time, “waiting expectantly” for that special event to happen.  The Scriptures given for this Sunday remind us of this on several levels.  Mark repeats Isaiah’s message as he begins his gospel with another prophet, John the Baptist— “Make a straight path—prepare a way.” One dimensionally, we can see this command as putting our physical house in order because we are getting ready to host guests at Christmastime.  And while we may feel that this is an important part of our preparations, we know that our brother Jesus, and our Loving God, expects us to go deeper. 

   Most of us, at least we women would not think of inviting guests to our homes without preparing the physical space to house them, or planning for guests without preparing enough food, even special foods for the time they will be with us. 

   Our God, through the prophets is asking for no less—in order that we will be ready to hear the radical message of love that Jesus gives to our world, we will need to prepare our hearts “to hear,” to accept, and ultimately share that message with our world.  And we know that this sharing will not always be easy. 

   Isaiah’s words to us today say as much: “…every hill and mountain be laid low.”  To me these words say that we will need some change in our lives to see and to hear Jesus’s message that is, as we said last week, often counter-cultural. 

   That brings us once again to mentioning the ritual color that the Second Vatican Council suggested churches use, going forward, to signify the work and the preparation of the Advent Season—blue.  This color should suggest to us that we are preparing for a “new creation”—Emmanuel—who will bring us new life.  This season is all focusing on Jesus and the “new life” he can bring us if we are open to it.

   As we spoke of last week, this is not a season to “beat our breasts” asking for forgiveness as during the Season of Lent, symbolized by the ritual color of purple.  Advent again, is a time for us to “expectantly wait” and to prepare, and to remember a life coming into our midst, capable of changing in many ways how we live our lives and for whom we live them.  Maybe that is why our present-day Church fathers have, in my mind, wrongly chosen to concentrate on our need for forgiveness, through the ritual color of purple, instead of “new life and creation” in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth.  People who feel “worthless and sinful” are easier, I would guess, to control than those empowered by the words of Jesus to extend justice toward all—to give them new life represented by the ritual color, blue. 

   And we would be remiss if we did not mention the wonderful place that our sister-mother-friend, Mary of Nazareth plays in Advent-Christmastime.  The ritual color blue stands to represent her as well and the creative and wonderful life she gave our world. 

   I did find in my search for the reason why our Church went back to the purple, instead of the blue for Advent, an obscure liturgist who suggested that if we used blue for this Season, it would suggest that Advent is “all about Mary.” Now, while it is true that the Season is not all about Mary, I believe we would all agree that she did play a most significant role! But far be it from any hierarchical church man to give a woman, or women in general, any credit for their gifts to our world! 

   We did not meet for the annual feast of the Immaculate Conception this past Friday as is our custom for all the holydays simply because preparing for more than one liturgy in a week is more than your pastor can handle, for the most part. But with this one, there is a double reason, in that it really doesn’t uplift the “Mary” in justice that we should be emulating.  That is why we are singing The Canticle of the Turning today—a real marching song coming from a woman’s heart about the Son she is giving the world—not a submissive, “kept-in-her-place” female, but a strong, decisive woman speaking about justice for all, the justice her Son will bring.  And when I think about her in that way, I realize why hierarchical Church men wouldn’t want to uplift such a woman.

   So friends, let us continue our journey toward Christmas, remembering that our brother Jesus came first and foremost for the lowly, signified by his birth in a stable, to tell us that we are, each one of us, truly loved by our God, no exceptions!  Amen? Amen!

My friends, once again, our Church Year has come full circle and Advent is with us.  Each new Church Year begins separate from our calendar year, ahead of time, to remind us perhaps, that what we do as Christians, as followers of Jesus, the Christ, our brother, and friend, is counter-culture, often times.  Is it counter-culture just because we Christians want to be oppositional? I would say, “no,” but more so because we humans tend to, for the most part, be more comfortable, “hanging with the crowd.” Our “walk” with Jesus demands that we be “uncomfortable” many times when most others choose the comfortable way out. 

   Perhaps a good story can explain this better.  Many of you are familiar with Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who in 1968, established Special Olympics with, I’m guessing, her own sister Rosemary, as well as so many others in our world, with learning disabilities in mind.  These really “special” children found, as they grew, that the world was really not a “friendly” place for them to be. 

   Lynn Schmidt, a political writer, and columnist for the St. Louis Dispatch wrote this past week a counter-culture piece addressing this issue.  The world of sports, in all areas is about competition and ultimately being better than all others, and unfortunately, politics gets involved too.

   The Special Olympics, while named as a competition, is more about comradery and support for all, “trying to do their best,” than about being, “better” than someone else.

   One particular athlete in the latest Olympics struggled to complete a 25 meter walk while using a walker—this is basically 80 feet! All those in the stadium began to cheer for him, as if he were the only one in the arena, to keep going and cross the finish line.  Schmidt said that when he did, “there was not a dry eye.”

   Rather than a crowd cheering for the success of the best among the best in the regular Olympics, this was the people cheering for the “least” among them ability-wise to be a success. So, what does this have to do with the Season of Advent? 

   In the beginning of this homily, I stated that beginning the new Church Year ahead of the new calendar year might be a way to lift up how our entire journey with Jesus our brother, will be counter-culture—we will be continually asked to stand up for the “least” among us instead of the “best.”  And incidentally, this will call us, “to be our individual best! 

   Advent has been deemed for as long as I can remember, a time of “expectant-waiting.”  Our culture, needless to say, does not do well with waiting. This is only too obvious in the way our culture “rushes” to Christmastime, totally by-passing any time of “expectant waiting,” when many of us come out of a Christian background.  We are not, as a culture, “patient waiters,” –we want it all now, and this is certainly driven by our commercialistic society. 

   But still, we as followers of our brother Jesus are called to go deeper.  Many probably look at “waiting” as a waste of time.  Kathleen Norris, mid-west writer with many books to her credit, speaks about “waiting” and “radical waiting” as “life-giving.”  Setting something aside, for a time, preparing for it over time makes us stronger, “gives us vigor,” she says. 

   So, what do the Scriptures have to say?  Each new Church Year rotates between the first three gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and this year, it is Mark’s turn.  As you know, Mark is one of few words: “Stay alert, be constantly on the watch,” is his message. 

   We humans, it seems, have the tendency to look for blame outside of ourselves, when things don’t go well.  This seems to be what is going on in the 1^st reading today from Isaiah.  Even though God has been there for this people over time—showing them the way to go, God seems to be blamed for, “letting [them] wander from [God’s] ways.”  It is Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians that reminds them, and us that, “Jesus … is faithful.” 

   Now being “faithful,” it must be remembered is not about Jesus doing everything for us.  Jesus’ “faithfulness” is about, “showing us the way” by how he lived his own human life—he doesn’t ask us to do anything that he was unwilling to do.  You will recall that last week we celebrated, “not a king above us,” but a servant among us.”  Thus, as Jesus was counter-culture, our “walk” with him will call us, often, to that larger, deeper look at what is needed in our world.  Will that always be easy? No, it will not! But we have great shoulders to stand upon! 

   Evidently Paul’s community in Corinth was, as we say, “walking the talk,” as Paul was thanking God for all the “gifts” bestowed on them through Jesus, the Christ. I find myself likewise thanking God for giving us each other as a community wherein we can challenge each other to be our best, for ourselves, but for others as well. 

   So, in conclusion friends—let Advent into your lives these next 4 weeks, allowing for some quiet moments, even a few each day, to “expectantly wait,” amid some quiet preparations, thinking about how great a gift the Incarnation is! 

***An Advent disclaimer:  These next 4 weeks are not “Lent-light”—a pre-Vatican II concept, represented now, in most, if not all Catholic churches with the ritual color of purple.  One would be hard-pressed to find a diocesan church that doesn’t now use the color purple for these 4 weeks.

    We are a Vatican II parish, so our ritual color for these 4 weeks is blue, used in deference to Mary, our Sister/Mother, but also as a sign of joy as the time draws near that we recall—God-With-Us, Emmanuel.  If you use an Advent wreath during this time, you should use 3 blue candles, and 1 white candle—the white representing the “joy” that our time of waiting is almost over.  The green of the wreath is all about, “hope” in our loving God.  May this time of “expectant waiting” coupled with quiet, anticipatory preparation be a rich time for each one of us.  Amen? Amen!