History appears to be central to the event that will take place closer to midnight. For the Vigil, we stay with the genealogy of Jesus. Its genesis begins with Abraham. The entire list of names is not a Litany of the Saints. Rather it is a salad mixture of saints and sinners. An important note is that many of them may have been great leaders but even then they too had been waiting for salvation to dawn upon them. It is indeed a history of frailty where the constant remains a God who desires to save. The ancestry presents Jesus as the ultimate commitment of God to the history of salvation. Jesus Christ is the long-awaited Messiah, the anointed one, the Saviour.
At the 4th Sunday of Advent, we highlighted Mary’s pivotal role in the drama of salvation. Now we turn our attention to Joseph. Learning of Mary’s pregnancy, he wanted, as an honourable man, to spare her the indignity of being accused as an adulteress. Instead he chose to discreetly break off the marriage. But God has other plans. Through a dream, the angel directed Joseph not to forsake Mary but instead Joseph is informed that the Child of his future wife had been conceived by the Holy Spirit and given a name which means God saves. That plan requires Joseph to lend his name to the Child. In summary, up until and including the Vigil, everything has been in preparation to welcome the Saviour. In other words, the Vigil encapsulates the Advent of alert and anticipation of Christ’s coming.
According to a British writer, GK Chesterton, he mentioned something about drawing a line before Christmas itself. For him, the very essence of any festival is that it should break in rather brilliantly and abruptly, that at one moment, the great day is not and the next moment, the great day is. It explains why there is a sense of penitence which includes a kind of purification, that is, our souls are scrubbed in order for us to fully appreciate and receive Christ coming at Christmas. This penitential principle preserves us from a kind of entitlement that we are now accustomed to. For example, if each day is celebrated as if it were a birthday, after a while, when the birthday comes, it will no longer be special.
It makes a lot of sense that the Church gives us Laetare Sunday during Lent and Gaudete Sunday during Advent. There is value in anticipation because hope springs from absence of grace especially when one is surrounded by sin. Perhaps this is where Christmas becomes a challenge for so many of us. We no longer believe in sin. Or maybe this statement has to be modified. We are somewhat familiar with sin but we do not think of it as such a big deal.
If the Catechism we have been taught holds true, then the line for Holy Communion should be shorter. Why? When we miss Mass on a Sunday we generally do not receive Holy Communion the next Sunday because we have been taught that to do so, it means that we need to go for Confession first. The truth is that many of us have no problem “waiting” until the penitential service to confess the sin of missing Masses. In other words, sin is sin but yeah, they are not that crucial. It can wait. So in the meantime we get on with the reception of Holy Communion.
Ask this question, who are we waiting for? A Saviour. But why do we need a Saviour if we are sinless? Thus, we have to recover this wonder of waiting which comes from a repentant heart. For if we do not, then our attitude towards Christmas will always be of an entitlement. It is time to celebrate and so, come hell or high water, we are entitled to celebrate. And we will. In the meantime, a season pregnant with a joy that comes from an appreciation of the salvation won for us will be nothing more than just an excuse for us to have a good time.
A good time is just that. It satisfies temporarily but it will never fill the divine emptiness which God our Lord has put into our souls. Our hearts will remain restless until they have found Lord. A good time is great but allowing Christ to come into our hearts is best for the souls. O Emmanuel, You are our King and judge, the one whom people await and their Saviour. O come and save us, Lord our God.
