First Sunday of Advent

It’s that time again! What to give this Christmas to one who seems to have everything? Speaking of which, what does God want from me? I got my answer early as I came across a line from our Dominican brother Meister Eckhart: “God wants nothing of you but the gift of a peaceful heart.” Great! That settles that! Or does it?  

What would it mean this Advent to have a peaceful heart in times of such unrest and anxiety? Rarely have we experienced such a troubled world, troubled church, troubled nation. The challenges of health and financial concerns, employment difficulties, environmental problems,  loss and diminishment on so many levels! The gift of a peaceful heart in the midst of it all?

We can understand the people of Isaiah’s time who,  as Carroll Stuhlmueller points out, boldly tell God to take some of the responsibility: “Why do you let us wander, O Lord, from your ways?,,,Rend the heavens and come down.” Jesus, however, does not let us off the hook. The Master “places his servants in charge, each with her own task.” Stay awake! Be on guard! As we wait for the fullness of God’s Kingdom, we are asked to trust with a peaceful heart that our little part, whatever it might be, is what is needed. “Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways!”

Sister Marya had it right! For the fifteen years of her suffering with a brain tumor in Maria Hall, she had a card at her door that read: “Call me when You’re ready God; just make sure I’m ready when You call.” 

Joan Delaplane, O.P.
St. Louis, MO.