A promise fulfilled

Meditation for the season of Advent

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Very well, those of you who are in a hurry can advance to the Christmas page - but remember that season begins on Christmas Eve and extends until the Feast of the Epiphany!

Hail, heavenly beam, brightest of angels thou,
sent unto men upon this middle-earth!
Thou art the true refulgence of the sun,
radiant above the stars, and from thyself
illuminest for ever all the tides of time.
And as thou, God indeed begotten of God,
thou Son of the true Father, wast from aye,
without beginning, in the heaven’s glory,
so now thy handiwork in its sore need
prayeth thee boldly that thou send to us
the radiant sun, and that thou comest thyself
to enlighten those who for so long a time
were wrapt around with darkness, and here in gloom
have sat the livelong night, shrouded in sin.
Cynewulf

The special significance of Advent is mankind’s longing, through many centuries, for total union with the Creator. We Christians believe that, in the earliest days of human existence, man had rejected God, through a desire to be equal to the Creator. Yet we term this rejection a "happy fault", because it led to the promise that God would send His only Son for our redemption.

This season can also remind us that the divine glory is often hidden from our sight. The glory of the Redeemer had been honoured first by John the Baptist, who leapt for joy in his mother’s womb - and that when the Master Himself was physically too small to be seen by the naked eye. Yet the promise of the Redeemer had been fulfilled, though most of the world was unaware.

There are many times within the spiritual journey when it seems that God is silent. It may help us to recall that the greatest of promises can be fulfilled, but with our recognition coming only after the fact. Yet our will can rejoice in choosing Him, even when our emotions are barren, and our intellect clouded.

I dislike when anyone says that "Christmas is for children",since children can hardly capture its essence. No, the days when Santa Claus could satisfy our every wish are long past, yet perhaps we can "become as little children" with another sort of joyous expectation.

I believe it was Thomas Aquinas, great medieval theologian, who stated that each of us yearns most for happiness. Yet, for happiness to be all that we wish for, it must be perfect, unchanging, and eternal. Thus, the only real happiness is in union with God.

We may have a spirit of joyous expectation, even in times of trial, when we long for this perfect and eternal happiness. All love brings with it longing, sacrifice, and a sense that it is never totally fulfilled. Indeed, in this world, we shall never have the total fulfillment that our spirit seeks. But we can wait, in this joy, knowing that God is with us in this life - and has perfect joy for us in eternity.

In the words of the prophet Isaiah:
Thus said the Lord God:
There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse,
and a flower shall rise up out of his root.
and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him:
The spirit of wisdom, and of understanding,
the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude,
the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.
...He shall judge the poor with justice,
and shall reprove with equity
for the meek of the earth....

And from Dame Edith Sitwell, words that seem appropriate as well:
He is the sea of ripeness and the sweet apple’s emerald lore.
So you, my flame of grass, my root of the world from which all Springs shall grow,
O you, my hawthorn bough of the stars, now leaning low
Through the day, for your flowers to kiss my lips, shall know
He is the core of the heart of love, and He, beyond labouring seas, our ultimate shore.

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E-mail:gloriana@oocities.com