Presence or Presents
My Dear Family,
Last week we introduced our theme of Love Languages for Advent, based on Gary Chapman’s work. He noticed that we express our love for one another in various ways that can be summarized into five key languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Acts of Service, Gift Giving, and Physical Touch. He calls them “languages” because love is not always communicated as clearly as we hope. We each “speak” different love languages, so it is key for us to learn to speak the love language of the person we are trying to love. Communicating in their preferred “language” really makes that expression of love resonate with them. Please take a moment to take an online quiz or here.
As we prepare to welcome Christ Jesus at Christmas time, we are really preparing to open our hearts to receive the invisible love of God made visible and even physical in the One who takes to Himself our humanity to show us what love really is. When we look upon Jesus, we see Love in the flesh. We see what love looks like in His words and deeds. Every gesture reveals what love is. Hence, our focus on learning how to better give and receive love during this season, not specifically romantic love, but from all our relationships.
This week our focus is on Quality Time - spending time and attention with one another. During this busy season, spending quality time can get squeezed out by the hustle and bustle, which is why we need to make time to be present with those who are important to us, and in a particular way, to see to it that our time together is of high quality, not overrun with distractions or overcrowded with activities. Quality time is all about presence. The gift of your presence is the present!
In our Gospel today (Lk 3:1-6), John the Baptist borrows a turn of phrase from Isaiah the Prophet: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” The image speaks of turning the rugged wilderness with its hills and ravines, challenging to navigate or traverse, into a straight and level road, so that the Messiah can march straight through. One question we might ask ourselves this week: does my heart look more like a craggy wilderness or a freeway? What rocks and roots could I remove to make ready for the approaching Redeemer?
This passage also brings to mind for me the difference in time it would take to wander through a rough and inhospitable land as compared with hopping on a bullet train. So, it has practical and spiritual implications. Practically, we can never get a second of time back. It is the one resource that is always being spent, never to return; and no one knows how much time they have! Time may be our most precious resource. So, what we do with our time, how we spend it, makes an enormous difference. Therefore, practically, and spiritually, we should spend our time, as much as possible, loving God and neighbor - being engaged in those activities which are most precious to us. We should pass the time in the company of those we love, being careful to spend that time well. Above all - even or especially during this busy season - we ought to reserve some of this precious resource daily to “prepare Him room.”
Whereas words of affirmation are free, spending quality time with those we love is precious. And we need to be deliberate in our use of this wonderful gift. How could you use your time better this week?
In his arms,
Fr. Joel
