Advent is the time of patient waiting, preparation and reflective considerations of the comings of Christ – the past, the present and the future.
This Advent my mind continually finds its way dwelling on Mary and Joseph going from inn to inn without finding shelter. Not finding one, they end up at a stable, and, of course, this is not a place to stay, let alone give birth. This hardship, hard to imagine, is compounded by the holy family’s flight to Egypt to avoid the infant Jesus being killed. I have been guilty of glamorizing the stable where the Son of God was born! So many creche scenes are so lovely, the real poverty of the situation is totally overlooked.
And I ask myself, if I or other believers had known that Jesus was forced to be born in a stable wouldn’t we do whatever we could so that this would not have happened? The reality: Jesus was truly born into poverty and there was no room for his family.
As my meditation continues, I feel compelled to contemplate the plight of so many people today who have no homeland, are separated from family and friends, and are living in abominable situations. In Pope Leo’s first encyclical he reiterates Pope Francis’s words “in this call (from Christ to us, we must) recognize him in the poor and the suffering: there we see the very heart of Christ, his deepest feelings and choices.” Delexi Nos And, we are continually reminded of Jesus’ own words “Whatever you do to my least brothers and sisters you do unto me.” Matt 25:40
May we this Advent put on the mind and the behaviors of Jesus asking ourselves “How am I growing in such a manner that Christ’s presence is manifested?”
