How can I be a bearer of hope?

The Thinking Anew column in The Irish Times today

Michael Commane

Tomorrow is the Second Sunday of Advent. Soon we’ll be halfway through the annual reminder to prepare for the second coming of Jesus at the end of time. 

During these weeks we also prepare for the feast of Christmas when we recall and celebrate the great historical event of the birth of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe is the Son of God. His birth is a special moment in time and the celebration of the event transcends the Christian community. 

All three readings in tomorrow’s liturgy offer the listener an extraordinary mission statement. The Old Testament prophet Baruch tells us  “to put on the beauty of the glory of God for ever, wrap the cloak of the integrity of God around you…” In his Letter to the Philippians St Paul praises his listeners for spreading the good news and assures them that this great goodness will be realised when the “the Day of Christ Jesus comes”.

And then in the Gospel, Luke tells us about John the Baptist, quoting the prophet Isaiah: “A voice cries in the wilderness;/ Prepare a way for the Lord,/make his path straight”.

The voice crying in the wilderness is an often quoted  expression about famous and not-so famous people who spend years fighting wrong-doing. Eventually, either in their lifetime or in future generations, the rightness of their cause was recognised. We recall with honour names such as India’s Mahatma Gandhi, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, San Salvador’s Archbishop Óscar Romero, and the courage of the German Scholl siblings and the Bishop of Münster Graf von Galen who stood up to the tyranny of the Nazis when so many chose to look the other way. 

In one sense there is something almost fashionable these days  about opposing the status quo. In a functioning democracy a person’s life is not at stake when it comes to attempting to undo wrongdoing by an organisation or a public authority.  But the cost to anyone who stands up to Leviathans when they see something wrong being done must be enormous.

Take a moment to think of the parents who stood up to the churches when their children were sexually, mentally and physically abused by priests and religious. What a toll  that struggle  must have had on their lives.

 

Tomorrow’s readings assure us that God has matters under control, even when we are  floundering. How can I be a bearer of hope? The world is full of despair and fear at present and yet in the midst of all that is happening, tomorrow’s readings offer us hope. 

It’s easy to look back in history and admire those who stood up against wrongdoing. It’s easy to romanticise their actions and indeed their suffering. 

But this world of ours can rid itself of wrongdoing and today we as Christians must always be on the alert to have the tenacity, wisdom and courage to highlight wrongdoing. Because it is only then that we can be true to the prophet Baruch and allow ourselves to wrap the cloak of the integrity of God around us. St Paul praises his listeners for spreading the Good News. He assures them that their work will bring about the Kingdom of God.

 

There is a lovely oneness about tomorrow’s readings. They urge us to do what is right. They give us a sense of the results that are to be gained from doing what is right. But we also learn that the cost of living by the truth might be paid for at a price. There is also a reminder to us of the importance of empathy, of taking time to be with those who are cast aside, those who are forgotten and laughed at.

For many months the United Nations has been stressing the importance and necessity of vaccinating the developing world against Covid-19. Their argument is that we can only win the battle against the pandemic if we do it as a universal team. No one can be omitted or forgotten. It’s the universal story of justice for all.

 

The feast of Christmas is about the most vulnerable of humans, an innocent, helpless child, who can do nothing for himself, someone who is at the mercy of the world.

The Christian message is a powerful story. It’s a privilege and challenge to us to try to live it.