This year,
the fourth Sunday in Advent
coincides with
Christmas Eve.
This is fortuitous!
As usual,
we have been looking at
Death,
Judgement,
and Hell.
These all seem
very negative but,
as we have seen,
the fact of Our Lord's Incarnation
makes them make sense
and, ironically,
gives us a positive view
and basis for hope.
Last week,
in thinking about Hell
as exclusion from
the awareness of
the Divine Presence,
we remember that,
just as Evil is the absence of Good,
knowing that
there is evil in the world
means there must be good.
If there is evil,
then there must be a good
that is absent.
In the same way,
if we know what Hell is like,
the state from which
we are saved,
then Heaven must be
the result of being saved.
It is everything
that Hell lacks.
[PAUSE]
This is why today
being the fourth Sunday
and Christmas Eve
is so useful.
Today is the last day
before the Incarnation.
We are here,
awaiting salvation,
awaiting Our Lord's return,
awaiting Heaven.
The Incarnation is Heaven on Earth.
We see God as we are.
We see the One
Whom we love,
Whom we desire,
Who gives us Himself
so that we can live
in the light,
in the truth,
in the peace which passes
all understanding.
While we see the Holy Baby
grow into a man
to teach us,
heal us
and die for us,
His very presence with us
and His promise
to be present with us again
show us what Heaven is.
[PAUSE]
Even His last words on the cross,
"it is finished!"
show us that in Him
all is complete,
we are complete.
It is not just the crucifixion is over
it is that Jesus
has completed all things
by reconciling us
to God
in the fullness of His Incarnation.
In a very real sense,
because of Him,
our lives are eternal now
because He is present with us now.
Our Holy Eucharist
is our God-given way
of continuing our relationship
with the Incarnate Christ.
He gives us Himself
under the appearance
of bread and wine
in order for us to
receive Him as God Incarnate
to our health and wholeness.
This is why our Mass
should look like Heaven
because Christ is made present to us again,
just as He was present
in the manger two millennia ago.
It is why we take our liturgy
seriously, gravely
and yet with passion
and joy.
[PAUSE]
The Incarnation
is Heaven
because we shall be like Jesus
for we shall see Him as He is.
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