Fitting in the missing part

The Roman Catholic Lectionary opens on a new Liturgical Year today, the first Sunday of Advent, with texts which bring us in touch with parts of our Christmas preparation which may be missing. The passage from the Book of Isaiah is set in time after the return from the Exile in Babylon. The people of Israel know that a large part of their life is empty. They have returned to their homeland but they have not returned to the intimacy they have experienced with God. The human tendency is assess blame here is evidenced in the suggestion that it is God's fault that the intimacy is missing. We do often wait to move toward the Divine with the thought that if God wants me closer, He can make it happen! The irony of this is discovered by the Israelites of 3rd Isaiah as they perceive that movement toward God is the gift of God which is not refused when sought and only through the meeting of wills of creature and Creator can the Potter work the clay. Our sense of distance from the Divine and Christmas can be obscured in the activity of the pre Christmas season which so often shortens or eliminates the necessary waiting from which our desire to experience "God is with us" is sharpened. The Church uses this time to remind us of the finite nature of our human life. The call to remain faithful to our action in the Body of Christ which makes Jesus Present to the world around us will be our method to "stay awake" for the time which will mark our return to God with Jesus.