The Coming of Christ

By Fred Vilbig

So we are in Advent.

Advent has always struck me as kind of an odd season. We are told that we are waiting for the coming of Christ, but that’s a little ambiguous for me.

In a way, there are four “comings.” There is the first coming when God became man by taking on flesh from the Virgin Mary and was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger. I think that is the “coming” that most people associate with Christmas.

Then there will be the final coming, what we refer to as the Second Coming at the end of time. Notwithstanding all of the attention on the supposed “Parousia” (the whole “left-behind” thing), Paul tells us in 1st Thessalonians 4:16-18 that on the voice of an angel and the sound of a trumpet, Christ Himself will descend from Heaven (just as He ascended (Acts 1:11)), and the Saints will be caught up into the clouds with Him.

But it seems to me that there are two other “comings” in our lives as well. One of those was often brought home to me by my mother. Living in Texas, we often had Jehovah’s Witnesses come to the door. They would always want to talk about the end of the world, the Second Coming. My mom would always ask them why they were so worried about that. If they were crossing the street and got hit by a bus, wouldn’t that be the end of the world for them? They always left a little confused. But in a sense, she was right. Our own deaths will be a “coming” because we will all see God in our particular judgment at that time.

The last “coming” is the one where Jesus comes into our lives in a personal encounter. Perhaps “coming” is the wrong word since He is always right “there” in the depths of our hearts, at the root of our being, just waiting for us to turn to Him. And if we are attentive to it, the “coming” can be an ever-growing Presence in our lives. Jesus is God, and God is infinite. We will never in this life and even in eternity fully grasp the infinite beauty, love, and perfection of God.

It is that last “coming” that I associate with Advent. Yes, we should remember the Birth at Bethlehem and hope for the Second Coming, but I think Advent should be a time to focus on becoming more aware of the Presence of God in our hearts, and all around us for that matter. The Church tells us to take some time during Advent to pray quietly and come to know Jesus more deeply. We should be doing this year-round, but we get caught up in “busy-ness.” Advent should be a time to allow Jesus to come into our lives more fully, more deeply.

To me, that is the meaning and purpose of Advent. We should take time to be with Jesus, so that we can love Him more and more. And as St. John of the Cross says, in the end, we will all be judged on love.

Happy Advent, and Merry Christmas.