Homily for Monday of the 1st Week of Advent

When we get sick, it's usually just a matter of time. Our joints ache, our heads throb and our stomachs wage war against us - but we know that it's only a matter of waiting out the cold or flu. We know that, with time, we will feel better.

There are times when waiting is more uncertain, anxious, and desperate. We don't know how this suffering will end, and we are terrified at what these symptoms may mean. We wait for the lab results to come back, we wait to see if the medicine will work, we wait for the surgery to be completed, and we wait for a cure.

And sometimes we are left waiting. . . for God.

Advent is the season of waiting for healing, transformation, and God's arrival in the person of Jesus. In today's Gospel, the centurion is an example of Advent waiting. He has looked after his servant and now awaits a cure. However, his faith gives him the ability to wait with hope. This Gentile's faith allows him to hope that God will act through Jesus. With a unique blend of dignity and humility, he requests that Jesus speak a word of healing.

This season of Advent calls us to hope that our waiting, our yearning for healing, peace, and salvation will come.

Let us pray… Come, O Christ, the Healer and Worker of Wonders! May we put our trust in your Word to heal our afflictions and illnesses. Let us hope in your light to shatter the darkness of our despair and pain. Help us to live our lives with faith in your compassion and hope in your grace during the Advent season and beyond.[1]

 

[1] Connections, Advent 2005, Media Works, Londonderry, NH, Jay Cormier, Editor