Readings for the First Sunday in Advent:
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14
1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
Aside from being one of the fathers of monasticism, St. Benedict is also one of the more profound spiritual doctors of Advent. At least I have long considered him thus. I think of him every Advent; I listen carefully to him, like a son listens to his father.
Read the “Rule of St. Benedict,” the prologue at least, and you’ll see what I mean. Of course, the whole of the Rule is a masterpiece, but the prologue is by itself a rich treatise on the Christian life that has over the years inspired me, sustained me, and even picked me up off the floor a time or two. He was writing for monks obviously, but the genius of St. Benedict was that he understood that monasticism isn’t anything extraordinary; monasticism is simply the Christian life lived in radical simplicity. Anyway, my point is that you and I can read St. Benedict too. He is a spiritual guide good for us too.
Again, read the prologue. St. Benedict teaches that the Christian life, the monastic life, begins between a father and a son, a servant and a master, a monk and his abbot – that is, it begins in relationship. Between the soul and God interiorly, but at the same time in community, God calls each soul to conversion, calls each of us to run to him.
Now as with any real spiritual masterpiece, the metaphors are mixed. The imagery of dialogue between father and son, monk and abbot, for instance, is woven together with the imagery of the heart. And the heart senses God; the heart hears and sees, St. Benedict writes. What he’s trying to describe is how the soul responds to God; he’s trying to describe conversion, how it happens within us and through us.
Which is why I consider him a spiritual master of Advent. Because he describes so powerfully the first virtues of Advent, which are watchfulness, wakefulness, vigilance, responsiveness. In the prologue, St. Benedict even cites Romans 13, an ancient text the Church still reads during Advent likening conversion to waking up: “it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep” (Rom 13:11). The picture St. Benedict paints is of an early morning, the sun lighting upon closed eyes.
“Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God, and our ears to the voice that every day calls out,” St. Benedict writes. That’s what must happen first if we’re ever to find God looking for us: we must wake up, open our eyes, listen.
Again, this is the first simple lesson of Advent. That’s what this passage from Luke is all about. Jesus is again talking about the end of the world – about frightening cosmic signs, nations “in dismay” (Luke 21:25). Whether he’s talking about the literal end of the world or metaphorically about the chaos of the world generally – a chaos which harries each soul seeking the truth – or whether Jesus is speaking about both: whatever are the exact referents of the “signs,” nonetheless, the virtues required of believers are the same.
“Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36). That’s what Jesus was telling his disciples to do to prepare for the full revelation of God on the Cross. It’s what all believers are to do in preparation for all the advents of Christ – Christ’s appearing to the soul, to the Church, to all things in the fullness of time. We are to be people who see the big picture and who are strengthened by it. We are to be people who hope because we have faith in the beginning and the end; because we know.
Which is knowledge that should inspire us to live a moral life. In the prologue, right after St. Benedict talks about conversion, he talks about morals – turning away from evil, doing good. It’s interesting that in this passage from Luke, Jesus weaves closely together conversion and the moral life too – keeping free from “carousing and drunkenness” (Luke 21:35). Here we pass from the first virtues of Advent to the first fruits of Advent – the beginnings of moral living.
And so, what are we to learn this first Sunday of Advent? Both Jesus and St. Benedict teach the same thing. When God calls, answer. Stand up straight, look up and live right, for “your redemption is at hand” (Luke 21:28). This is the simple call of God at Advent. It’s just that it’s been Advent every day of your life; it’s Advent now. So, wake up.
Father Joshua J. Whitfield is pastor of St. Rita Catholic Community in Dallas and author of “The Crisis of Bad Preaching” (Ave Maria Press, $17.95) and other books.
