There is an intimate and integral relationship between the practice of silence and simplicity and the spirituality that infuses Advent. It is the silence required for a listening heart and the simplicity required for an unpossessed heart that makes it possible for us as well as Mary of Nazareth to hear the deep truth of our being and the true depth of our soul’s calling: that, on the one hand, we are tabernacles carrying the sacred presence within us and, on the other hand, “we are places of nativity,” to borrow Sue Monk Kidd’s words, asked to bring the Divine into the world in real and visible ways. Although Mary’s labor was a singularly physical and eternally unmatched act, it’s meaning is most fully and faithfully experienced only if we understand it as a commission for us to do the same.

Put simply, in order for God to be manifest on earth, God still needs earthen vessels through whom God can come into the world. God is already and always present, hinted at in the grandeur of nature, sensed as “the hidden ground of love,” to use Merton’s phrase, or the Holy Breath (ruach) that enlivens and sustains us and all creation. But as we also know from experience there are times when God’s presence, that is, God’s relatedness to the world, is best communicated in and through the mediation of human action as deeds of kindness, hospitality, justice, and compassion in the face of human need. Some might see this as a colossal failure on God’s part or as exposing God’s fatal weakness. But seen from another angle, it suggests the magnanimity and generosity of God who asks us, like Mary, to be involved in the work of Christmas by bringing forth God in our own real and tangible ways.

When persons are lonely
we give birth to simple care and genuine companionship.

When persons suffer alone in the darkness,
we sit with them in the dark.

When persons are hungry, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually,
we bring God into being in the form of biscuits and soup or simple encouragement or compassionate presence or food that feeds the soul.

When people are weary or despairing
we give life to tenderness and hope.

When people are suffering needlessly from unfairness or exploitation,
with God we co-create justice.

When persons and places are filled with violence,
we beget the force of non-violent peace.

When people are in danger or frightened
we give birth to sheltering love.

When persons are neglected, feel unseen, unnoticed, counting for nothing
we give birth to Christ by looking, seeing, beholding, and appreciating the sacredness of who they are.

In a time that suffers from “the death of Wow”
we give birth to wonder and awe.

In a world too often dictated and dominated by callousness and cynicism
we give birth to deep sympathy and gratitude for simple things.

In the face of sadness,
we bring joy into the world.

And where there is death
we do our part to give life.
THIS is how we prepare the way of the Lord.♦

REFLECTION:

As you go through your day and are confronted with a variety of situations – large and small — cultivate the awareness that asks, “What do I need to help give birth to here?”