The Incredible Oasis in Your Desert

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We are still on our miniature Advent retreat via these weekly reflections.  The scripture passages for the Second Week of Advent remind us that something great is about to happen.  In Sunday’s readings, we anticipate the Messiah who has been endowed with the great Spirit of God (Is. 11); and we hear John the Baptist exclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 3:2)!  Remember last week’s readings: we are supposed to be preparing for the coming of the kingdom.  This week we are told that the moment has come.  The time is now.  We must be ready!

One of the most important themes of this second week is captured by Isaiah, on Tuesday.  The prophet exclaims, “In the desert, prepare the way of the Lord! … Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed…” (Is. 40)!  We learn that God wants to reveal His face to us, and He wants to make the spiritual deserts of our lives arid again.  The purpose of Advent, then, is to make our hearts more ready than they are right now.  If we desire that water comes into our spiritual desert, if we want to experience more of His glory, all we have to do is make ready.  In these days of Advent, we need to pray about the various deserts of our lives, and we need to ask God to provide the glorious water of His grace.

Anastagio Fontebuoni, Saint John the Baptist Preaching (1571-1626)
We also must come to understand that we cannot create such a change by ourselves.  This week of Advent is about learning that God is the sole source of benefits and blessings.  God will provide, and He will do so consistently, but we must know that He will not be rushed by our demands.  We must let God provide blessings to us in the way, and in the time span, that He desires.

Still, we find ourselves setting expectations for God, and we go in search of ways to fulfill our own plans and desires.  Eventually, our hearts are turned far from the Lord, and we begin to notice that the darkness and the desert have become more pronounced in our lives.  How many of us have found ourselves distant from God because we have sought fulfillment in a career, in being part of a certain social group, or in mere physical pleasures?

The great lesson that God wishes for us to learn is contained in Isaiah 41.  Unfortunately, we don’t hear this passage this year, because of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Thursday.  The prophet announces, “The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain.”  Isaiah follows quickly with the Lord’s answer: “I will turn the desert into marshland…the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.”  God alone can and will fill the arid deserts of our lives.  Only He can make our lives fruitful by the water of His grace.

The consolation that God wants to provide, the spiritual fruit in our lives, is different than we might expect.  He doesn’t wish to provide us with more monetary resources, more social influence, or more physical pleasure.  First and foremost, He wishes to bring about repentance and conversion, which will become the greatest realities in our lives.  That is why John the Baptist says, “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I” (Mt. 3:11).  Repentance will make us ready for a deeper encounter with God, something better than we could ever dream up on our own.

Finally, it is appropriate to make a short comment about the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the greatest Advent celebration.  In fact, the point of this reflection is proved by the Church’s teaching about the Immaculate Conception.  Mary could not have spared herself from the stain of original sin, and neither could her parents or even the most influential prophet in Israel’s history.  God, Himself, had to prevent her from inheriting our fallen human condition so that He could complete His plan to redeem us.  Mary, just like each and every one of us, is totally dependent on the grace and help of the Lord.  The difference is that she knew her condition and responded perfectly.  During Advent, we must seek to imitate Mary’s “Yes!”

When we have done this, the Lord will crown us with “everlasting joy,” as Isaiah 35 tells us.  Therefore, we must be watchful as this Second Week of Advent proceeds.  Like those who saw the crippled man healed (Lk. 5:17-26; Monday), we will be “struck with awe,” and we can respond, “We have seen incredible things.”  Don’t let incredible things pass you by this Advent.  Remain alert, keep watching, and repent!

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