Advent and the Apocalypse - New Evangelizers

Happy Advent!

We are now in that blessed season where we prepare for Christmas. Some you have already trimmed the tree and started your Christmas shopping. Everywhere you go, you are bombarded by the constant sound of Christmas music (probably sung by Mariah Carey). And Christmas decorations have been up in every store since after Halloween.

But with all of the festive ambiance, why did Sunday’s Gospel seem so dour?

From Luke’s Gospel it says:

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

Jesus is speaking here about the end of the world. Why would the Church choose such a reading in preparing for Christmas?

Because Advent points us to the end of the world.

Growing up, the end of the world was always something that freaked me out. I tried reading the Book of Revelation when I was very young and I don’t think I was prepared for the imagery. On top of that, stories about catastrophic extinction events would put a pit in my stomach.

It was only after a great deal of study of the Revelation that I understood what John was trying to say. I don’t mean to say that I have this entire mysterious book figured out. But I can now see some things that were opaque to me before.

All of the dismay in the Book of Revelation seems similar to our Lord’s words from Sunday’s Gospel. There will be great cataclysms before the end. This used to frighten me until something was point out to me in my study:

The cataclysms are happening now!

When John wrote Revelation, it was in the midst of a horrible persecution of Christians. Throughout the years we have seen other terrible scourges on the world. In the last four years alone we have seen a global pandemic, wars in Europe and the Middle East, terrible natural disasters, and political unrest of every kind. Perhaps in the relative peace and prosperity of our country, we do not feel these crises as keenly as the poorest in our world. Nevertheless we are constantly surrounded by times of trial.

Revelation tells us that we are to have hope in the midst of all of this: in the end Christ will come and give us victory!

And that is the message of Advent.

During Advent, we anticipate the coming of Christ into our world. He did so the first time through the humility of the manger. As we remember that great first coming, we are actually anticipating His glorious second coming. When He returns, it will be a day better than Christmas.

We prepare for Christmas by getting each other gifts. This is partly as a way to express to the people in our lives how we understand them and love them. This is also in emulation of the Magi giving gifts to our Lord. And it is also a reminder of how God gifted us with His only Son.

But on top of that, in a primal way, we experience a special joy at receiving a gift. I used to run a program at my school where we would bring underprivileged children from the community and they would spend the day with us having breakfast, playing games, making cookies, and getting a gift from Santa. Watching the children light up as they received their gifts made my heart swell. And it wasn’t about the material price of each gift. Each child felt special and loved because someone cared enough about them to do something that gave them joy.

When Jesus comes back, that joy will become permanent.

It says in Revelation:

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away.” (Revelation 20:4)

That Christmas joy that we all experienced as a child (and hopefully still experience today) will last for all eternity when Jesus returns. Revelation ends with the word “Maranatha!” which means “Come, Lord Jesus!”

And this is the sentiment of Advent.

Copyright 2024, WL Grayson

W.L. Grayson

I am a devoutly Catholic theology teacher who loves a popular culture that often, quite frankly, hates me. I grew up absorbing every movie, TV show, comic book, science fiction novel, etc. I could find. As of today I’ve watched over 2100 movies and tv shows. They take up a huge part of my life. I don’t know that this is a good thing, but it has given me a common vocabulary to draw from in order to illustrate whatever theological point I make in class. I’ve used American Pie the song to explain the Book of Revelation (I’ll post on this some time later) and American Pie the movie to help explain Eucharist (don’t ask). The point is that the popular culture is popular for a reason. It is woven into the fabric of our lives and imaginations, for good or ill. In this blog I will attempt to bring together the things of heaven with the things of earth. Of course this goal may be too lofty for someone like me.