By Fr Joshan Rodrigues –
It has been customary for the Oxford English Dictionary to name a ‘Word of the Year’ – a word which succinctly captures the quintessence of the period of time that has elapsed over the last 12 months. This word also touches the crux of experience that the world would remember most about the year gone by. In a post-normal and, quite frankly, unforgettable year that 2020 has been, it is no surprise then, that the Oxford Dictionary has chosen not to name a ‘Word of the Year’, describing 2020 as “a year which cannot be neatly accommodated in one single word.” 2020 has seen a number of words entering into the lexicon of daily use; words such as “lockdown”, “pandemic”, “social distancing”, “work from home”, “flatten the curve”, “staycation”, etc. have found a place in our daily vocabulary for the foreseeable future. The year 2020 itself has been described by some to be a “lost year” and a “year to be forgotten”.
It is no coincidence then that the grace-filled season of Advent, that comes knocking at the end of a tumultuous, tragic and even traumatic year, comes as a soothing balm for a wounded world. The themes of the four weeks of Advent i.e. hope, love, joy and peace, are precisely the antidote to the despair and despondency that has impaired our lives in the last nine months. The significance of this season remains the focus on the coming of our Lord. (Advent comes from the Latin adventus, meaning coming.) The Catechism stresses the two-fold meaning of this coming: When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Saviour’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for His second coming (No. 524). On the other hand, we celebrate the anniversary of the Lord’s first coming into this world. We ponder again the great mystery of the Incarnation when our Lord humbled Himself, taking on our humanity, and entered our time and space to free us from sin.
Advent is a time when we must “lockdown” our misdirected priorities, “flatten the curve” of sin, and “spiritually distance” ourselves from a life that treats God as an appendix, rather than the very reason of our existence and purpose in this world. The pandemonium that the pandemic unleashed on us at the start of the year did lead many to spiritual humility and a recognition of our dependence on the Almighty. However, there is a perceptible danger that a “worship from home” fatigue may lead us away from a true worship of the Almighty in spirit and truth. Rejoining the physical assembly of believers to praise God must be our ultimate goal, though we must continue to exercise prudence and caution, as the virus still lurks among us.
However, if we were compelled to select a ‘Word of the Year’, it would have to be ‘watchfulness’—a term that encapsulates the Gospel reading on the First Sunday of Advent. Watchfulness is a keyword that has defined our behaviour during the pandemic – being watchful and alert against the possibility of infection, staying indoors and away from public spaces to minimise the risk of exposure and a heightened focus on hygiene and sanitation. But Christ exhorts, even commands, a watchfulness of the spirit. The Son of Man will come without warning; only the Father knows the exact hour. The disciples must not be caught unprepared when this time comes.
In the meantime, we must be watchful against the powers of evil and sin; we must shed our spiritual and social indifference, and reach out in solidarity to our suffering brothers and sisters. The best way to welcome the Author of Life, Justice and Truth is to create a world where these virtues form the centrality of social living. Advent reminds us that though God has kissed the earth through the Incarnation, much remains broken and unfulfilled. We are the bearers of that promise that the babe of Bethlehem made manifest in our world. We need to be ambassadors of the hope, love, joy and peace that Christ brings to us. This is the most perfect and tested vaccine that the world needs, a vaccine that has been perfected by the trials of Our Lord Himself.
Fr Joshan Rodrigues is the Managing Editor of The Examiner, Catholic Newsweekly of the Archdiocese of Bombay. He is an alumnus of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome in Institutional and Social Communications. He has done brief stints with the DeSales Media Group in Brooklyn, New York and Communications Office of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, London. He frequently blogs on faith and culture in ‘Musings in Catholic Land’