Fr. Stanko Cosic: Meditation on the time of Advent

date: 02.12.2013.

We are again in our favorite time of the year, time of the preparation for Christmas, time of Advent. It is the time when we unite our past, our presence and our future. We recall the past because we remember Christ’s first coming when He opened the doors of salvation, doors that were closed and chained due to sin. We look into the future, because we look into Christ’s second coming that will be complete expression of the gift that we anticipate at this time. We look into the presence when we can joyfully acclaim: “Our Lord is coming!” by living presence in the constant anticipation of His act of our salvation and His final coming.  That is why present time for Christians is a time when they are directed towards promised eternity in Christ who gives meaning to the time that we live in and turns it into the experience of eternity. Therefore, the lost time is not the time when we failed to do something, but the time when we were not aware of the fullness of the time. That is exactly why we have new opportunity in every Advent to wake up, to open our eyes and to live joy of everyday life. Christian is a man of hope who walks in hope, faith and love in his life.
What is that that we, as Christians, do in the time of Advent? We are anxiously anticipating and waiting! We are awake, we expect with hope and holy fear. We expect Someone for whom we do not know when He would arrive, but we are certain that He is coming. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly look up, to look into the distance from where that expectation is coming. That is how the one who is expected is not only expected, but He is wanted, He is welcomed, the One for whom we hope with all of our heart. The time of Advent is not just indifferent expectation because the One whom we await does not leave us indifferent. It is about the time of the engaged awaiting. Christian is not sitting still while waiting, he directs his gaze longing for meeting as soon as possible the One whom he is awaiting. It is the expectation of Lord’s coming and it is possible to understand it by looking into the image of a child that expects his mom to return and keeps opening the doors of the house wondering if she had yet arrived. For a child, it is not enough just to wait. That child wants to speed up her arrival and keeps opening the doors, looks around and calls for his mom, that child lives the love of motherhood and union in expectation. That child is certain that his mom would come and is joyfully waiting for her, ready to run into her embrace and filled with impatient joy of that final encounter.
Furthermore, the child that is waiting for his mom would not allow his mom to rebuke him, that child would clean and put his room in order, so joy of their encounter is full at the end. Even when the child knows that it might be rebuked because of some small offence that he cannot hide, this child is still awaiting joyfully for his mom. (A. Crncevic: “At the source of the liturgy”)
Dear faithful let us already now be awake and in joyful expectation live Christ’s presence. Our Lord was born 2000 years ago and may He be born in our hearts now, may He enter into our life every single day by making us those who will be apostles of the new life – Joyful news. Let us anxiously anticipate final encounter with Him when we would be able to say in full joy and hope: “Finally I get to meet you.”