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Dceember 1, 2003, Monday, First Week of Advent

Easter, Lent and Advent

From the beginning, the main Christian feast was Easter, and this is still true today – Holy Thursday evening through Easter Sunday are the holiest days of the year. And, every Sunday is called a “Little Easter.” (That is why, from early times, penitential actions – such as fasting and kneeling – were prohibited on Sundays, even during Lent.)

The death/resurrection of Jesus took place during the feast of Passover. But there is no way of knowing what time of the year Jesus was born. In the fourth century, the feast of his birth began to be celebrated on December 25, apparently to replace the pagan feast of the “unconquered sun” (the time of year when the days started getting longer again). The feast of the re-birth of the sun was replaced by the feast of the birth of the Light of the World.

Just as there was a time of preparation for Easter (Lent), there also developed a time of preparation for Christmas – Advent. This season varied in length, but eventually the practice of beginning Advent on the fourth Sunday before Christmas became the norm.

Take another look at the Advent plans sketched or written out yesterday.

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully,” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” (Mt 8:5-11)

As the above passage continues, Jesus will marvel at the faith of this Gentile centurion. He will then send the centurion home with the assurance that his servant is healed. Matthew will note: “And the servant was healed at that very moment."

The centurion had no doubt that Jesus could heal from a distance. It was only a question of whether Jesus would choose to heal the servant at all. When Jesus says to him, “Go. Let it be done for you according to your faith,” the centurion fully believes that the servant is indeed healed.

It might be worthwhile to think about the level of my faith. When I pray and ask God to do something and it doesn’t happen, what kinds of thoughts cross my mind?

· Do I wonder if God could really do it?

· Do I believe that God could, and trust that God didn’t because there’s more to it than I can see?

· Do I believe that God could, and wonder why God wouldn’t, and decide that it’s more or less because of my own sinfulness?

Don’t answer too quickly.

Talk to the Lord about it.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.