Waiting on the Word

1. Advent is a paradoxical season of active waiting and rich darkness

Advent is a paradoxical season: a season of waiting and anticipation in which the waiting itself is strangely rich and fulfilling, a season that looks back at the people who waited in darkness for the coming light of Christ and yet forward to a fuller light still to come and illuminate our darkness.

Embracing the paradox. Advent invites us to inhabit the tension between what has been and what is yet to come. It occurs during the darkest, coldest days of the year, yet its entire focus is on the arrival of warmth, light, and new life. This paradox reminds us that hope is often born in the midst of our deepest winters.

A countercultural fast. In a modern culture that rushes to throw tinsel and noise at December, reclaiming Advent is a profoundly countercultural and subversive act of quietness. This intentional waiting prepares our hearts to truly appreciate the feast of Christmas rather than succumbing to seasonal exhaustion. We can practice this by:

• Resisting the immediate gratification of consumerism
• Sitting quietly in the dark to cultivate inner peace
• Allowing spiritual hunger to build before the feast

Finding light in winter. The natural season of winter serves as a physical metaphor for our spiritual state. By accepting the cold and dark, we discover that the seed of light is sown in the deepest soil of our waiting. It is in this quiet, ploughed-up ground of the heart that Christ begins His transformative work.

2. The coming of Christ has a triple focus that spans past, present, and future

That collect speaks of Christ’s first coming ‘to visit us in great humility’ in the manger of Bethlehem, then leaps across time to the fulfilment and finality of all things: Christ’s second coming ‘in his glorious majesty’.

The three advents. While traditional liturgy emphasizes the historical birth in Bethlehem and the future apocalyptic return, there is a vital third dimension. Christ continuously comes to us in the "in-between" moments of our daily lives. This triple focus frames our existence, anchoring us in history while keeping us alert to the present.

Daily divine encounters. These daily advents occur in the ordinary, often overlooked spaces of human existence. We must train our eyes to recognize the living Word through:

• The faces of the poor, the marginalized, and the stranger
• The quiet mystery of the sacraments
• Unexpected moments of beauty and transfiguration

By seeking Him in these daily encounters, we bridge the gap between the historical past and the promised future.

An ongoing adventure. Viewing Christ's coming as an active, daily reality transforms our faith into a spiritual adventure. Every door we open in love and hospitality becomes a potential threshold where the divine meets us face-to-face. This perspective prevents our faith from becoming a static set of beliefs, turning it instead into a dynamic relationship that unfolds in real-time.

3. Poetic imagination is a vital, truth-bearing faculty for understanding faith

I believe that by ‘waiting on the Word’, in every sense of that phrase, waiting on the true Logos, the meaning behind all meanings, and attending closely to the way that meaning is imaginatively bodied forth in poetry, we can begin to unfold a little more of the mystery of our faith, to unpack and open out the contents of those technical words, Incarnation and Atonement.

Imagination as truth-bearer. Rational analysis alone cannot fully grasp the profound mysteries of Christian theology, such as the Incarnation and the Atonement. Poetry acts as a complementary faculty to reason, allowing us to feel and inhabit these deep spiritual truths. It provides a unique lens through which the abstract becomes deeply personal and felt.

Bringing poets to the table. To do theology well, we must listen to the imaginative voices of the past and present. Great poetry compresses vast, complex doctrines into accessible, resonant language that speaks directly to the human heart. This is achieved by:

• Translating abstract dogmas into lived human experiences
• Using metaphor to bridge the gap between the finite and infinite
• Awakening the mind from the dulling lethargy of custom

Tasting the language. Reading poetry slowly and aloud is a countercultural act that restores our appreciation for the depth of words. It allows us to move beyond silent skim-reading and truly taste the spiritual nourishment embedded in the text. By slowing down, we open ourselves to the transformative power of the Word.

4. Mary serves as the ultimate archetype for the soul's reception of the Divine

Although her role as Theotokos, the God-bearer, is in one way unique, in that she alone physically nurtures and brings into the world the body and person of Jesus Christ, in another way Mary is the archetype of every Christian soul, and of the whole Church.

The universal call. Mary's physical preparation for the birth of Christ serves as a model for our own spiritual preparation during Advent. We are all called to respond to God's promise with a willing "yes" and to nurture His spirit within our lives. Her journey of expectation mirrors the Church's collective waiting.

Bearing God into the world. Just as Mary carried the physical body of Jesus, we are called to bear the divine presence into our daily environments. This process requires:

• Deep, prayerful contemplation of God's word
• Willingness to let the divine spark grow within our flesh
• Actively bringing Christ's love to a hurting world

Through these actions, we become active participants in the ongoing story of the Incarnation.

The feminine perspective. Reflecting on Mary's role helps redress historical imbalances that have eclipsed her significance. Her active, courageous consent to the Annunciation reveals the strength and dignity of the feminine in the economy of salvation. She is not a passive bystander, but a key protagonist in the redemption of the world.

5. The Incarnation is defined by kenosis, the radical self-emptying of God

This humble self-emptying is known as kenosis, after the Greek word for ‘emptied’ in this text.

The ultimate descent. Kenosis represents the astonishing mystery of an infinite, omnipresent God choosing to limit Himself to the fragile form of a human infant. The Creator of the cosmos willingly enters the "darksome house of mortal clay" to be with us. This radical humility challenges our human obsession with power and status.

God as a servant. This self-emptying is not a display of distant power, but a profound act of humble service. By taking the form of a slave, Christ redefines the very nature of kingship and authority. We see this divine service in:

• Rising early to light the fires of creation unthanked
• Working silently like a slave to sustain our existence
• Submitting to the physical limitations and pains of human life

Meeting us in our lowliness. Because God has descended so low, there is no depth of human suffering, depression, or grief that He does not inhabit. Underneath all our failures and brokenness, we find the everlasting arms of the self-emptied Savior. He meets us in our darkest valleys, ensuring we are never truly alone.

6. The O Antiphons map a progressive journey of spiritual longing and preparation

Each antiphon begins with the invocation ‘O’ and then calls on Christ, although never by name.

Longing before Christ. The seven great O Antiphons, prayed in the final days before Christmas, place us in a state of anticipation. By addressing Christ through His Old Testament titles, we experience the deep longing of a world waiting for salvation. This practice teaches us the value of waiting without rushing to easy answers.

The titles of desire. Each title touches on a fundamental human need, mapping a journey from darkness to light. We call upon the Savior as:

• Sapientia (Wisdom) to order our chaotic minds
• Clavis (Key) to unlock our mental prisons of depression
• Oriens (Dayspring) to bring light to our winter solstice
• Rex Gentium (King of Nations) to shape our clay into peace

These ancient names give voice to our deepest, unspoken yearnings.

The hidden promise. Embedded within the Latin initials of these titles is a secret, comforting message of hope. When read backward, the first letters of the titles reveal the divine response to our cries: Ero cras, meaning "Tomorrow I will come." This beautiful linguistic mirror assures us that our cries in the dark are always heard and answered.

7. Christmas reveals the sacredness of our common, vulnerable flesh

By God’s birth / Our common birth is holy; birth / Is all at Christmas time and wholly blest.

Sanctifying the ordinary. The birth of Christ is not a sanitized, comfortable event, but a raw and demanding reality. By entering the world through a common human birth, God sanctifies the physical, vulnerable nature of all human flesh. This act of love elevates our ordinary, physical existence into something holy.

The demanding joy. Childbirth and new life are inherently inconvenient, messy, and demanding, yet they bring ultimate freedom and joy. The Incarnation forces divine glory into our frozen, wintery veins, waking us from spiritual sleep. This awakening requires:

• Embracing the "living pains" that break our cold trances
• Recognizing the sacredness of every human child
• Welcoming the inconvenient demands of love and service

The shadow of the cross. The manger is always intimately connected to the cross, as the swaddling bands of infancy foreshadow the grave-clothes of the tomb. Christ's physical vulnerability is the very means by which He will ultimately heal and redeem our brokenness. His willingness to be brought low is the source of our ultimate elevation.

8. Epiphany expands the light of Christ to include all nations and cultures

The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the visit of the magi to the Christ-child, and so the inclusion of the Gentiles in the gospel story: and not simply the Gentiles in a generic way, but all the distinct races, cultures and religions of ‘the nations’...

A universal revelation. Epiphany marks the moment when the light of Christ breaks through tribal boundaries to illuminate the entire world. The wise men, representing diverse races and cultures, demonstrate that the Savior belongs to all of humanity. This feast challenges us to expand our vision of God's kingdom beyond our own borders.

Restoring the divine image. In the Incarnation, Christ assumes and redeems our collective human nature, restoring the lost image of God within us. This universal grace calls us to recognize the divine presence in every person we meet. We are called to:

• See the "human form divine" in the stranger and the foreigner
• Love our neighbors across religious and cultural divides
• Find God dwelling wherever mercy, love, and pity are found

The call to active love. The ultimate consequence of recognizing the Epiphany is a transformation of how we treat one another. Our prayers are only made real when they bear fruit in active, compassionate love for all of God's creation. As we take down our Christmas decorations, the true work of Epiphany begins in our daily lives.