Fr. Brioni Luigi
In Sierra Leone, waiting time for something or someone seems to be accepted as an integral part of social life. People don’t mind waiting long hours, now and then, here and there, for the right or the wrong reasons. So much waiting is there by so many people, and without much of a complaint! Waiting for public transport to leave, for salaries to improve, for justice to be done, for roads to be mended, for big men to come, for homilies to finish, and the likes. Waiting and waiting to no end! I do remember well, the President was coming that year to Kambia at 11 am, and so we all teachers and students dutifully lined up on both sides of the town roads at 9. Finally, at 11.00, news came that the President would arrive soon. We hoped he would. But actually he arrived at about 2.00, with students exhausted, thirsty and hungry. But they clapped for him just the same, even though he was terribly off schedule and … without apology.
Advent is our yearly sacred time of waiting for none other than the Son of God to come, to be our Emmanuel among us. He is surely coming, never off time, to be with each one of us. His birthday of 2022 years ago on December 25th will be made present again this year in our hearts and Christian communities, if we sincerely and actively desire for Him to come.
But who is this Jesus we all should be waiting for? How can He be the promised Messiah when he is constantly mixing with sinners and prostitutes, when He is touching impure people, likes to stand by the scum of society, and enters into pagan houses? How then could He be the one? Together with John the Baptist we all dare to ask Jesus himself: “Are you the one who is to come, or …?” The question of John and ours is immediately answered by Jesus with the evident signs of His public ministry, people sick are restored to health, a lot of poor are consoled, and many have started believing in Himself.
We don’t know from this gospel passage whether John was satisfied with Jesus’ reply or not, but we presume so. And certainly we today do fully accept His reply, because, more knowledgeably than John, we now know that He also died for us and He is alive with us.
We are waiting to celebrate the mystery of Christmas with true faith and joy. Faith, because we believe that there is no other saviour for humanity than Jesus; joy, because He is the only one who can give sense to life and satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts.
So, what does Jesus really mean to us now? On December 25th, what do we expect, just some extra food, new clothes, parties of one kind or another? Isaiah reminds us that “He is coming to save us.” He is not a saviour, but the Saviour of all humanity, the cosmic Saviour of the whole world! Yes, He is coming into this world for me, to be with me, to be one with me. This is what salvation is all about, it is the unbreakable togetherness of Jesus with me, each one of us, whether I am blind, poor, a sinner. He comes to do for me what I cannot do for myself, reconciling me to the living God and making me a sure candidate to live forever.
Yes, we can and should wait for Him to be our Messiah, to fulfil the divine promises of old because He is actually already here, fully available to my welcoming Him! And let us never forget that it is not so much we who are waiting for Him, but He who waits for us, in every moment of time. He is calling us, He is thirsting for us, He offers us even His Body and Blood to be one with us. He cannot love us more and better.
Waiting for Him means then to set aside all other desires, interests, concerns, and to make Him welcome as the most necessary reality of my life. To be perfect human beings we really need only Him, for He wants me fully and unconditionally, with my poverty, my sins, and my want of His eternity.
“Jesus, come, and let me stay with you always, with many brothers and sisters, the world over. Amen.”
In Sierra Leone, waiting time for something or someone seems to be accepted as an integral part of social life. People don’t mind waiting long hours, now and then, here and there, for the right or the wrong reasons. So much waiting is there by so many people, and without much of a complaint! Waiting for public transport to leave, for salaries to improve, for justice to be done, for roads to be mended, for big men to come, for homilies to finish, and the likes. Waiting and waiting to no end! I do remember well, the President was coming that year to Kambia at 11 am, and so we all teachers and students dutifully lined up on both sides of the town roads at 9. Finally, at 11.00, news came that the President would arrive soon. We hoped he would. But actually he arrived at about 2.00, with students exhausted, thirsty and hungry. But they clapped for him just the same, even though he was terribly off schedule and … without apology.
Advent is our yearly sacred time of waiting for none other than the Son of God to come, to be our Emmanuel among us. He is surely coming, never off time, to be with each one of us. His birthday of 2022 years ago on December 25th will be made present again this year in our hearts and Christian communities, if we sincerely and actively desire for Him to come.
But who is this Jesus we all should be waiting for? How can He be the promised Messiah when he is constantly mixing with sinners and prostitutes, when He is touching impure people, likes to stand by the scum of society, and enters into pagan houses? How then could He be the one? Together with John the Baptist we all dare to ask Jesus himself: “Are you the one who is to come, or …?” The question of John and ours is immediately answered by Jesus with the evident signs of His public ministry, people sick are restored to health, a lot of poor are consoled, and many have started believing in Himself.
We don’t know from this gospel passage whether John was satisfied with Jesus’ reply or not, but we presume so. And certainly we today do fully accept His reply, because, more knowledgeably than John, we now know that He also died for us and He is alive with us.
We are waiting to celebrate the mystery of Christmas with true faith and joy. Faith, because we believe that there is no other saviour for humanity than Jesus; joy, because He is the only one who can give sense to life and satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts.
So, what does Jesus really mean to us now? On December 25th, what do we expect, just some extra food, new clothes, parties of one kind or another? Isaiah reminds us that “He is coming to save us.” He is not a saviour, but the Saviour of all humanity, the cosmic Saviour of the whole world! Yes, He is coming into this world for me, to be with me, to be one with me. This is what salvation is all about, it is the unbreakable togetherness of Jesus with me, each one of us, whether I am blind, poor, a sinner. He comes to do for me what I cannot do for myself, reconciling me to the living God and making me a sure candidate to live forever.
Yes, we can and should wait for Him to be our Messiah, to fulfil the divine promises of old because He is actually already here, fully available to my welcoming Him! And let us never forget that it is not so much we who are waiting for Him, but He who waits for us, in every moment of time. He is calling us, He is thirsting for us, He offers us even His Body and Blood to be one with us. He cannot love us more and better.
Waiting for Him means then to set aside all other desires, interests, concerns, and to make Him welcome as the most necessary reality of my life. To be perfect human beings we really need only Him, for He wants me fully and unconditionally, with my poverty, my sins, and my want of His eternity.
“Jesus, come, and let me stay with you always, with many brothers and sisters, the world over. Amen.”