What holds you steady? An Advent reflection by Pádraig Ó Tuama

The cover of What Were You Arguing About Along The Way - Gospel Reflections for Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter, from the Spirituality of Conflict project, edited by Pat Bennett, introduced by Pádraig Ó Tuama

THIS IS an extract from Pádraig Ó Tuama’s introduction to Advent, the beginning of the Church’s year when we prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus at Christmas, in an extract from What Were You Arguing About Along The Way - Gospel Reflections for Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter, edited by Pat Bennett from the Spirituality of Conflict project.

There was a time when Advent was just like Lent.

The Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh recalls, in his famous poem ‘Advent’, a childhood memory of when his family would fast in the four weeks leading up to Christmas. Already poor, his farming community would enter into the dark days of December stripped of the few luxuries they had - butter for bread, sugar for tea - all in the aim of opening the heart to the luxuries held within since, ‘Through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder.’

As we enter into Advent, we will reflect on how simplicity may be a way of preparing the heart for the radical oncoming of story that is Christmas, by paying attention to the demands of justice, focus and resolution in the readings of Advent.

It is always striking that the texts for Advent are as stark as they are. The lectionary brings us to some of the more troubled sections of Luke’s Gospel for this first week of the season: words about signs in the sun, moon and stars; words about foreboding and shaking and confusion; words about power and glory. The texts propose visions of dystopia.

Before reflecting on the theological insight of the dramatic language, it’s worthwhile imagining oneself into the mind of the writer of Luke’s Gospel. At this stage, it was supposed that Jesus of Nazareth might come back at any point. As the early gospel tradition developed, some people began to imagine apocalyptic endings any day now and so you find New Testament texts that are disparaging about, say, marriage, because it’s seen as a distraction from the cataclysmic events believed to be just around the corner.

One can read that as a limited understanding of time and religion, but one can also read this as there always being people alive for whom certain events signal to them the end of the world. It may be that the last number of years for many individuals have signalled for them serious political times, with increasing division and rhetoric and public acceptance of boorish performances of masculinities. However, there are entire populations of people who have been living with the consequences of political misrepresentation, manipulation and despotism. The world is always ending - for some populations. And often, those populations are conscious that their drama is ignorable by many.

And so the ancient writer is bringing us into something that is always happening all around us. Awfulnesses are always happening and the opening text of Advent calls the attention of the entire Church to turn towards those places where signs are ominous, worlds are ending, storms and fainting and terriblenesses are all around.

What is extraordinary in this is that the religious imagination is called to a deep integrity: ‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation’ (v.34). The faithful are called to not be distracted by fripperies, but also not to be distracted by devastation. To hold deeply to the principle and foundations that will guide you and hold you steady. The four-week drama of Advent builds this sense of foreboding about heavy times and culminates it all in the risk of God becoming incarnate in the body of a small child.

Ignatius of Loyola advised his followers to find, in their prayer, something that would hold them steady. Seek and test different ways, he said, try out a few, so that you can find what will support you to be steady in this life: That level of prayer is best for each particular individual where God our Lord communicates Himself more. He sees, he knows, what is best for each one and, as he knows all, he shows each the road to take. What we can do to find that way with his divine grace is to seek and test the way forward in many different fashions, so that an individual goes ahead in that way which for him or her is the clearest and happiest and most blessed in this life.

What supports you in keeping steady: whether in a time of consolation or a time of desolation? Are there ways you could deepen and strengthen this practice during Advent?

Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet and writer on Christian spirituality. He led the Corrymeela Community from 2014-19.

Pat Bennett is a theologian, medical doctor and a member and former employee of the Iona Community. What Were You Arguing About Along The Way - Gospel Reflections for Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter is published by Canterbury Press and available here.