An Advent reflection from Bishop John C. Wester

Intermountain Catholic

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While sitting at a Catholic Relief Services (CRS) meeting recently in Dallas, Texas, I marveled at all that is being accomplished by this wonderful organization. CRS has an annual budget of nearly $1 billion and is affecting the lives of over 100 million people in over 100 countries with a staff of over 6,000 people. Pretty impressive stuff!

And yet, we were given updates that again and again underscored the incredible suffering of so many throughout the world. Despite our best efforts, the assistance given by CRS seems like only a drop in the bucket. But you do not have to go half way around the world to find suffering: There is plenty of that in our own backyard. People are without jobs, loved ones are waiting for medical reports, natural disasters plunge people into seemingly hopeless situations and addictions enslave people in a world of misery. It certainly appears that suffering is here to stay!

Perhaps these thoughts formed the backdrop to the annual question one hears these days, "What do you want for Christmas?" Judging from all the songs I’ve been hearing already, there are many answers to that question. Some are waiting for Santa Claus to bring them their favorite toy, others are looking forward to chestnuts roasting on an open fire with eggnog in hand, and still others are hoping for their two front teeth. These expectations are only on the surface, of course, and they represent our desire to be free from suffering, whether on a large or small scale, whether from war or just the uneasiness we feel when we remember that we are not immortal. So is that what we want for Christmas – a Messiah who will free us from suffering? Is the newborn Savior going to alleviate all of our suffering, provide for all of our needs, fulfill all our desires, and throw in our two front teeth as part of the bargain?

Well, yes and no. Ultimately, we may get everything we want and then some – in Heaven. But for now, in this life, God never promised us a rose garden! As a matter of fact, suffering is a part of life – it is not the enemy, something to be avoided at all costs. That would be fear. As Tennessee Williams once said, "Don’t look forward to the day you stop suffering, because when it comes you’ll know you’re dead." No, it is through suffering that we grow and mature and fulfill ourselves. Too many people think that this is what religion is all about: a promise to end all suffering in this life. I believe it was John MacMurray who said that false religion tells us not to worry: That which we fear most will never happen. Real religion, he counters, tells us not to worry: That which we fear most probably will happen, but it is nothing to worry about!What we await this Christmas is not an end of suffering but a promise that we will not suffer alone and that our suffering will bring new life. This is precisely what Jesus came to give us. The question is not "what" we are waiting but for "whom" are we waiting. Did you notice in last Sunday’s Gospel for the third Sunday of Advent, St. John relates that the Baptist’s questioners first asked, "Who are you?" When he told them he was not the Christ, he was not Elijah and he was not the Prophet, they then asked, "Then ‘what’ are you?" They had it right the first time. It is not a "what" we wait for this Christmas, but a person: Jesus the Christ, Emmanuel (God with us). Jesus did not promise to end all suffering in this life, but he did promise to be with us through it all, even in our darkest moments. He also promised that he would redeem our suffering and that it would lead to new life, ultimately to eternal life.

This is a far cry from alleviating suffering, but it makes suffering tolerable. In fact, this gets at the meaning of compassion – to suffer with. Jesus is the most compassionate of all: He loves us so much that he emptied himself of divine prerogatives to become one of us, to suffer along side of us. And what is more, his death and resurrection mean that suffering and death will not have the last word, life will. Ironically, this perspective that only comes with faith helps us to see that suffering is not something to be avoided, but something to be accepted as a part of our personal call to grow in holiness and newness of life.

Advent is a time to reprioritize as we discern what it is we really want in life and, in the short term, what we want for Christmas. It is a time of deepening in our love for Christ so that when he comes we will be ready to receive him with open arms.

Years ago there was an advertisement for indigestion that asked, "How do you spell relief?" Our Catholic answer is, "E-M-M-A-N-U-E-L." Still, I am appreciating more and more the "relief" in Catholic Relief Services. We are truly bringing relief to those in Iraq who continue to suffer from suicide bombers; to Haitians who still live in tents and suffer from want; and to those in sub-Saharan Africa suffering from famine and disease. But the good news of Advent is that we await one who will suffer with us and who will remind us that we are not suffering alone – and that makes all the difference. It puts things into perspective and reminds us that life is not about avoiding suffering but redeeming it through the one who comes to us as a vulnerable child in the manger. Come, Lord Jesus, come! Pitch your tent with us once again this Christmas in fulfillment of your promise that you will be with us always, especially in our suffering.