Need for Speed

Letting the liturgy teach us how to wait for Christmas

11/14/2024

LK 17:20-25  Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.” Then he said to his disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’ Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”

Have you noticed that we have entered into a time of waiting and anticipation? It seems every year the Christmas shopping season creeps up earlier and earlier. "Black Friday” – the day after Thanksgiving – used to be the official start of the Christmas season. But already we see Christmas shopping commercials, people have decorated their homes with Christmas lights, and Mr. and Mrs. Santa have already bought and hidden presents.

But I believe the reason the season of waiting creeps up earlier and earlier is because we are a culture that doesn’t like to wait. We want instant gratification. The sooner the better, we say. Like Tom Cruise said in the movie “Top Gun” – “I feel the need, the need for speed.”

In the gospel today, Jesus instructs his disciples about the need (not for speed, but) to wait patiently and anticipate the coming of the Kingdom of God. But the Lord also teaches them that the coming of the Kingdom will not be flashy or awe-inspiring. Rather, it will be subtle, quiet, and in fact, the Kingdom was already in their midst.

So he says: “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.” In other words, to notice the Kingdom requires the eyes of faith and a spirit of prayer. Only then will you see its presence and power.

One way we can effectively don these eyes of faith and enter more deeply into the spirit of prayer is to pay close attention to the lessons of the liturgy, or the Eucharist. In other words, the Scriptures and sacraments (especially Mass) are specifically geared to getting us ready for the coming of the Kingdom of God.

For example, we are in week 32 of 34 weeks until the end of the liturgical calendar. Just like there is a December 31 to mark the end of the secular calendar, so we have week 34 to mark the end of the liturgical calendar.

And if we pay close attention to the readings and prayers of the Mass in these final weeks of the year, you will hear notes of the end of the world and the coming of Christ's Kingdom. After all, Jesus said to Pilate, "My Kingdom is not of this world.' In other words, one way the liturgy helps us prepare for Christmas is to lift our eyes from this world to the next, because one day this world will end.

Another way the liturgy teaches us how to wait patiently and anticipate the coming of Christ and his Kingdom is by telling us it's not Christmas yet! As much as we hate to wait and like Cruise we "feel the need, the need for speed,” the Church’s liturgy invites us to cool our jets and hold our horses. How so? Well, we first immerse ourselves in Advent for 4 weeks before we celebrate Christmas.

In fact, the modern culture gets the Christmas season exactly wrong. First comes Advent for 4 weeks, and after December 25 we celebrate Christmas for several weeks. But modern Americans celebrate Christmas – with lights, parties and gifts – before December 25, and then take down everything festive on December 26. But December 26 is exactly when the Christmas seasons finally begins! But for most Americans that’s when the Christmas season ends.

My friends, can you see how much we need the liturgy to teach us, like Jesus taught his apostles, that the Kingdom of God is among us, but we cannot perceive its power and presence without eyes of faith and a profound spirit of prayer? There will indeed be people saying, “There it is!” or “Here it is!” just like people say today, “Look, it’s Christmas time!”

But they will be gravely mistaken. What our culture celebrates as “Christmas” is only the shell of the true season, just the external trappings and fineries but no spiritual soul or supernatural substance. It is a season that has lost its true spirit. And only the liturgy can help us remember the real reason for the season, namely, Jesus. He is the Kingdom of God in person.

Praised be Jesus Christ!