Sunday, December 5, 2021
Seconday Sunday of Advent
As we move through these days of Advent, we are invited by our Scripture readings to believe in the new beginnings and hope which God offers to us for the days to come. As we remember the coming and the Savior, and the promise of a better tomorrow which was brought forth by his presence and the Gospel message, we hope that our futures will be blessed with fresh possibilities.
Such high and bright expectations can be dimmed by the realities of today. The pandemic, the cultural divide, and the higher cost of everything, just to name some, can make us cynical and doubtful as was St. Thomas in believing in the resurrected Lord. Yet we are asked to believe that God can make all things new.
I mention this because at this early point in December, I recall a special early Sunday in December in 1990-thirty-one years ago. I was living in Cleveland at the time, and I awoke to a beautiful sunrise. During the course of this sunny Sunday and long after the sun set later that afternoon, everything was very right!!!! Did anything really special take place? -no, but it was a day of some unexpected pleasures and experiences which I will always remember fondly. The only event what went wrong that day was that the Bengals lost to the San Francisco 49ers in overtime at old Riverfront Stadium. I have had other such days, but his one particular Sunday in December 1990 really stands out to me, even today.
It may be too much to expect immediately the profound societal change we look and hope for. Not to say it cannot occur, so let us not loose heart regarding that dream. But we can have ordinary moments become very cherished ones which can brighten and enliven us. Moments when we are thankful to be alive and have the opportunity to live and be with one another. Those days can have a profound influence on us and set us on a new positive direction. Please take some time today and this week to consider and reminisce on such special ordinary days in your own life experiences.
The embracing of the simple/ordinary verses the great and profound is summed-up well by this quote by British author and commentator Alistair Cooke who wrote:
“In the best of times, our days are numbered anyway.
So it would be a crime against nature for any generation
to take the world crisis so solemnly that it
put off enjoying those things for which
we were designed in the first place:
the opportunity to do good work, to enjoy friends,
to fall in love, to hit a ball, and
to bounce a baby.”