Greetings, SBT Readers!

If Advent is about peace, unity, and waiting in hope, then the first week of Advent has met every expectation-- and more! Pope Leo IV's visit to Turkey and Lebanon could be described as a missionary journey intended to bridge religious and national differences, promote peace and understanding, and celebrate a shared Christian heritage, the Nicene Creed. Warmly welcomed in both countries, Pope Leo challenged political leaders, encouraged the Christian community, and met with representatives of various religions. As several news agencies noted, Pope Leo literally served as a "pontiff" —a bridge-builder!

But while we might marvel at the success of his whirlwind visit, Pope Leo made it clear in his comments that bridge-building was not just the role of the pontiff, but of every Christian. Just as there are three bridges connecting Europe and Asia spanning the Bosphorus Strait, so all Christians must build bridges of community, ecumenical relations, and encounters with other religions. "We journey as if on a bridge that connects earth to heavcn," he declared in his homily in Istanbul. Our task is to keep our eyes fixed on both shores.

Advent Blessings!

Elizabeth

LINK TO SCRIPTURE READINGS

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. Do not presume to say, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now, the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,

but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn,

but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Mt 3:1-12

A shoot, a blossoming bud, good fruit-- these are the signs that the wasteland will bloom once more, that the forces of death and destruction will no longer have dominion. With the coming of the Holy One-- a Messianic King from the House of David-- Isaiah predicts there will be a new world order, one in which the poor and afflicted will find justice while their oppressors are struck down; the advent of this Messiah will herald in a time of peace in which divisions and dichotomies disappear, along with enmities between nations and even within the animal kingdom. For his part, John the Baptist proclaims that the One who is to come will separate fruitful trees from barren trees, the wheat from the chaff, baptizing with fire and the Holy Spirit even as he clears the threshing floor...

Roughly 2,800 years since Isaiah's prophecy of a peaceable kingdom and 2,000 years since John the Baptist's fiery message, it seems as though we are back to a shootless stump, and trees ready to be axed. Christ has come, but today, Evil seems to have an even tighter grip on humanity than ever before, luring not just individuals but vast groups of people into doing the unthinkable. Of course, Evil has always existed, but now we see it flashing without censorship across our devices; moreover, its ability to masquerade as "good" has desensitized us to cruelty, violence, and injustice. And if we happen to have twinges of conscience or misgivings about what we are witnessing, influencers and political commentators quickly assure us that all is right with the world -- with our world!

But, despite all this, the Christ Light still shines in the darkness. As I wrote in Jesus the Holy Fool (Sheed & Ward, 1999), the Incarnation is "the supreme act of generosity whereby God invites all of us foolish, fallen ones to share in the divine nature, for as Athanasius states, 'God became human in order that human beings might become God'" (65-66). Regardless of how many wars presently ravage the face of the earth, no matter how many people are persecuted or how greatly the environment is polluted, we still have the blueprint for holiness-- the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Moreover, the Risen Christ continues to show us the Way through Word and Sacrament. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we have all we need not only to transcend the "bad news" but to make a difference in a hurting world.

Once upon a time, a shoot sprang from the stump of Jesse. The greening power of that shoot transformed history and continues to invite people of goodwill to be Light-bearers and co-creators of a new world order:

"Through the Incarnation, human flesh is delivered from dust and decay to become the very temple in which God resides; through the Incarnation, in the person of the Divine Child, God becomes the promise that we will never be orphaned" (66).

The Good News is that we are neither powerless victims nor helpless bystanders; rather, we can change the world if we are willing to allow God to change us.

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QUESTIONS

FOR REFLECTION

• What signs of hope do you see in the world today?
• Why is it important to observe Advent as a time of preparation not only for Christmas but also for the Second Coming?
• In what ways do you try to bridge differences and welcome "strangers"?
• What practices are helping you enter into the experience of Advent?