The first reading this Sunday is from Isaiah, written when the Israelites had returned to their homeland. It was probably composed by a group of unknown prophets. It berates the people for their sinfulness, giving a picture of wrongdoing that could equally be applied to our own day. In spite of this it also gives a message of hope with passages like the following:
Arise, shine, for your light is come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. (Is. 60:1)
In chapter 61, there is a prophecy which Jesus repeated in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:18-20), which he said spoke about himself. Advent reflects the mood of Isaiah, for it is both a penitential season marked by the wearing of purple vestments and a season of joy and hope symbolised by the evergreen of the Advent wreath. We have a long journey to travel like the people of the Old Testament, who were a waiting people, trusting in God’s promise to them. We can identify with Balaam in Numbers 24:17:
I see him but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
The first candle on the Advent wreath is lit and we begin our journey towards the light. In the gospel Jesus warns us to be alert. When “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” - the most important event in human history - most people went about their business. Who would recognise God incarnate, born to poor parents in a stable in Bethlehem, when Augustus Caesar reigned in all his glory?
Oh Rising Sun, you are the splendour of eternal light and the sun of justice: O come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. (Canticle of Zechariah.)