First Sunday of Advent
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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