My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
We have begun Advent which is basically a time of waiting. Time is really important to us. We live in time – the time of our birth to our death. The time of Advent in a certain sense telescopes our life from its beginning to end. It gives us the opportunity to look back and look forward. To wait, in time, for the birth of Jesus, the Son of God Who is the author of all time.
At this time, an important question is, how do we view time in our lives? Time is not something we really like to waste. We like to make the most of our time in this life, and every day we should use the time God gives us for good purpose. As we think about how we use time, however, we recognize that sometimes we let it slip through our fingers. We do not take advantage of every day and make the best use of it. It does not mean we have to be workaholics, never stopping to take a rest or use leisure properly, but it is an opportunity to analyze the time we have, for time does not belong to us alone.
Time belongs to God. He has given us the time in our lives to find its meaning. As Christians, we find the meaning of time in Jesus Christ whose birth we prepare to celebrate during Advent. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end of time.
Advent gives us precious time to prepare for Jesus, as He will come into our lives in a new way every Christmas. He can make a difference but we first must prepare to receive Him in a new way. Our preparation for the Savior’s birth can take various forms. Advent is not a penitential time. Rather, Advent is a time of expectation and waiting when we must give more time prayer and contemplation.
The event of the birth of Jesus is the event of our salvation. So during this time of Advent we need to reflect on what we need to be saved from. Where I am at this point of my life? What are the things that seem to trouble me? Am I bothered by despair? Am I anxious? Do I feel hopeless?
Yes, Jesus is our Savior. He can save us from all that seems to threaten us whether they be very personal or whether they be events in our world that baffle us and are beyond our ability to influence. Advent gives us the time to be prepared to be saved and to identify what needs saving and change in our lives.
During Advent we put out into the deep. We are asked to use our time in a better way for it belongs to God. We want to make a gift to the Savior this Christmas that we have lived the time of Advent well. We have understood better what needs to be saved, and that we will welcome the Savior as He is born with the special grace of Christmas.
