By Fr Antony Christy, SDB.
THE WORD IN ADVENT – Third week Monday
December 18, 2023 – Jeremiah 23: 5-8; Matthew 1: 18-24
Among the varied reasons we reflected upon for rejoicing as we await and prepare for the Reign, one of the foremost is the unfailing presence of God. This week, as we are all set to reflect on the ways to celebrate the Reign, we are given this experience to come to grips with.
This is a traditional experience, right from the times of the Old Testament, when the people felt the presence of God constantly guiding them through various intermediaries—persons like the kings and the judges, events like the clouds of pillar and fire, experiences like the division of the red sea and the crossing of the Jordan.
This is what is related to us in the first reading, with that Hebrew word – Yahweh tsidkenu – Lord our righteousness (Jer 5:6), that is, the Lord who does to us what we need, not just what we deserve, but even more than what is our due… because the Lord is ever present with us and know what we exactly need.
In the New Testament, we see that God decides to make that presence felt, not through intermediary experiences but through a concrete personal experience of Godself—Emmanuel, the term we see in the Gospel. A personal presence of God that makes us experiences the proximity of God, all our lives. Can there be a greater joy than this, more than the unceasing presence of God with us, a presence that saves, justifies, guides, protects, and accompanies?
If we have to celebrate the Reign that is amidst us, we need to first of all recognise the presence of the Lord amidst us. As the antiphon of the day reminds us, the Ruler of the House of Israel, one who gave us the law, one who continues to guide us with his presence, one who teaches us what is righteousness, one who protects us in our integrity, is the Emmanuel, is the God who is with us, is the one who is present amidst us, inviting us to make that presence felt by all around us and share it with the rest of the world.
Let our celebration of the Reign become more and more concrete each and every living day, that we may incessantly prepare ourselves to be ever-worthier people of the Reign.
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He has completed his doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him on.