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First Sunday of Advent

Readings of the Day
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It is the hour now to awake from your sleep, says Paul to
the Romans.  Stay awake, exhorts Matthew.
God surely does not wish us to stumble through life,
half-asleep.  And yet, in the darkest weeks of the year, as
we spend more time in our homes, it is surely a temptation to move
toward the
comfort of a warm bed.  At least it is
for me. 

God's repeated message in today's scripture of
"awakening"
prods me from my natural inclination to hunker down in the cold
dark.  But to what shall I wake?  To what shall I give my
attention?  Matthew warns us that we don't know when God
will come into the world, so we should be alert to God coming to us
unexpectedly.

Emily lost her job and has been denied unemployment.  Her teenage
daughter is with other family,
but Emily can't pay next month's rent on an apartment
she's been in for
years.  As a single adult, she does not
qualify for much help, public or private. 
Our agency's limited assistance will not be enough to keep her
housed.  There aren't other good
resources in her neighborhood.  Emily
sighed that she'd just go back to her apartment and wait for it
to fall down
around her.

Pam and Curt are living in their car with their beloved dogs
as temperatures fall below freezing every night.  The low-barrier
shelters are all full.  Unfortunately, the dogs got sick and
their
vomit and feces have contaminated the car. 
We offered clean blankets and some gas so they could keep the car
warm
for a few more nights. 

I cannot resolve their needs as I would like, which is its
own anguish.  My help is partial, at
best, and so I want to hunker down and withdraw.  Is this my wake
up call?  Here comes God in unexpected ways, with the
names Emily, Pam and Curt. 

As we begin the Advent season of preparation for the great
celebration of incarnation into messy, suffering humanity that is
Christmas,
let us practice preparation by intentionally seeing God in those who
come to
us.  Especially those whose stories are
not easy, clean, or happily resolved in our 30-minute sitcom
world.  Let us remember that God is surely with these
clients, that we are to wake up to their suffering and walk with them,
and that
incarnation is not the end of the story. 
May God bless us in our humble service.

 

Scott Cooper has served as Parish Social Ministry Director for
Catholic Charities Eastern
Washington for nearly 20 years.  With his family, he belongs to
Spokane's
Sacred Heart parish, where he sings with the choir.

 

 

 

 

 




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