Peace be with you!

With Advent upon us, here’s a timely discussion, challenging us to step out of our comfort zone.

The first Sunday of Advent is all about preparing for Christ’s Second Coming, the day for which we “wait in joyful hope.” The day His kingdom really will be on earth as it is in Heaven.

As I write this, we’re hours away from Black Friday, or as I like to call it, “Mall Meltdown.” Some people are already out there on the hunt for bargains.

Truth is, most of us spend more time during Advent busy with Christmas shopping, baking, and decorating than we do preparing our hearts for Christ. And maybe that’s because we’re not comfortable with the idea of holiness. Conscious of our sin, we think we’re unworthy to be any better than we are.

If St. Peter had this problem, and St. Francis de Sales was writing about it 1600 years later, it seems the “unworthiness syndrome” is an all-too-human failing.

And yet, holiness is all about being truly, fully human, and becoming the best possible person we can be. Because when we are transformed according to grace, our best self transcends our self.

It seems to me this might be the flip side of the proposition that Christ had to become human in order to become more fully the Son of the Father: In order to become fully human, we need to transcend ourselves, and become like God. (And yes, it still makes my head hurt to think about this.)

And God is eager to be our partner in this endeavor. This Sunday’s second reading from 1 Corinthians says it well:

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

I’d planned to bold face the most relevant parts of that quote. But really, it’s all relevant. Go back and read it again, this time slowly. Listen to St. Paul tell you–not just those ancient Corinthians, but you, today and now–how God has called you to be his partner in holiness, and endowed you with spiritual gifts. See how he calls us not just as individuals, but as a community of faithful disciples enriched in every way, working together.

God wants to be our partner in holiness, because He needs us to be His partners in action here on earth. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: He has left us in charge, each with our own work.

Being the best version of ourselves, pursuing our work not for our own reward but dedicating the outcome to God’s purpose: this is the daily, humdrum, monotonous…utterly transformational and transcendent gift that God desires from us.

God’s desire for us makes us a worthy gift to Him. Giving ourselves, we give Him the present He most wants. And we don’t even have to buy it, wrap it, and put a bow on it.

The Advent challenge: Give God the gift of your time. Use these four weeks to truly prepare the way of the Lord.

Sunday’s readings.