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I always find Advent to be the most dangerous time of the liturgical year. It can get you into a lot of trouble. Advent is situated within the Mary story, the young girl full of hopes and dreams and plans, and then the shattering of all of that with the appearance of the angel and his strange message and even stranger answer to her question. And then her response: “Let it happen as you will.” That is the essence of the Advent season, to surrender. Not because we understand, not because it fits our dreams or plans, not because we like it, but simply because it is what God asks. So the first danger we encounter is the possibility of following Mary’s example and saying and meaning: “Let it happen as you will.” Why is that so dangerous? Because God is apt to take us at our word.
And then there are the Scripture readings of the season. Take today’s first reading from Isaiah; we are the clay, you are the potter. It could be extremely dangerous to say: “Lord, potter my clay.” He just might! But then, that’s what it’s all about. To the degree that we surrender to our God through the daily circumstances of life, accepting even what we don’t understand, allowing our dreams or plans to be shattered, feeling the hurt or pain of things we don’t like – to that degree, we, like Mary, will allow the Word to be made Flesh in our lives. And to the degree that we allow the Lord to potter our clay, through the aches and pains, the disappointments, our personal brokenness – to that degree, we will bring the Word to birth in our lives, our community, our Church, our world. The challenge of Advent and of life is to let it happen, to be constantly on the watch for opportunities to respond to a demanding God. It’s dangerous! If we’re willing to say: “Let it happen, potter my clay,” he probably will! But it is also rewarding because it leads to new birth, new life, it leads to Christmas joy.
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