Third Sunday of Advent
We rejoice, all the liturgical guides tell us, because Advent is more than halfway over. But as I thought about it, being more than halfway done with something is encouraging, but I wouldn’t necessarily say I would rejoice. I thought about working out, especially cross-fit-style exercises: I am happy to be at set six out of ten. But I’m still in the midst of the workout, and often times I’m fairly gassed by then. I rejoice when I’m done with the workout and have successfully conquered the challenge that (more often than not) others set out for me.
And maybe you’re on the same page when it comes to Advent. Even though we are more than halfway done, we’re still in the midst of it all. Two weeks ago I challenged us to be attentive to how Christ comes to us and to non-Catholics, as well as making sure we help others recognize Christ as He comes to them. How are we doing with that? Last week I encouraged us to hope: to focus on eternal salvation and allow the theological virtue to carry us through challenges that come to us each week or maybe even each day. How have we exercised that virtue of hope? Maybe Advent has felt like one of my workouts: we give a lot of ourselves, but we’re getting tired and worn out, even though we haven’t finished yet.
Giving up is an option. It’s not a good option, but it’s an option. There have been workouts where I’m giving my all, and maybe pushing myself a bit more than I should (especially when I’m working out with someone who is much better shape than I), and then I get to the sixth or seventh round, and I’m gassed. I remember one workout where we were supposed to deadlift 225 pounds for three reps in one minute, then ride an assault bike for one minute for as many calories as possible, and then get a rest for a minute, and repeat this for ten rounds. I really pushed myself, trying to keep up with my partner on the assault bike, so that after three rounds, I struggled to keep my breath. By round six I felt like I had nothing left. So when round 7 began, I had convinced myself that I couldn’t go on anymore, and I was going to quit. The minute started for my deadlifts, and I sat on the bench, catching my breath. I told my partner that I couldn’t go on. I wanted to quit, and others may have.
But quitting means that we’re out. And while a workout is mostly inconsequential, when it comes to our faith, quitting means that we abandon God. And that’s not a recipe for eternal life. God never quits on us; He stays with us, no matter how weak or tired we feel we are. And if we can give even some small bit, God will help us be successful.
In that particular workout, I dug deep, and made myself finish. But I had to adjust, which is our second choice. My calories on the assault bike dropped somewhat significantly. In other workouts, including one I did just last week, I set a goal that I thought I could attain, doing a squat to shoulder press with 30 pound dumbbells for ten reps, then riding an assault bike for 10 calories, and using the ski machine for 15 calories, each in one minute. But by round four I realized that my original estimate was unrealistic. So I had to adjust. I dropped from ten reps with the dumbbells to eight. It still pushed me, but I didn’t feel like my arms were going to give out. My calories on the assault bike also dropped a bit. But I didn’t give up. I adjusted my original goals to reflect reality.
Maybe this Advent we have set very adventurous goals for our spiritual growth, and we’ve grown a little frustrated because we haven’t achieved those goals yet. Don’t give up; adjust. Sometimes we think we have more than we truly have. We can lower our expectations without stopping altogether. And when it comes to our relationship with God, continuing the fight, even if we slightly alter our goals, means that we’re doing our best to still respond to God’s grace which makes any good work possible. Victory may not look like we originally intended, but we can still get a victory that challenged us and helped us to grow in our relationship with God.
Lastly, sometimes we just keep our same goals. Sometimes I have had times where I wanted to quit, but I didn’t, and I didn’t even adjust my goals. My goals challenged me, and I wanted to give up or lower the goals, but I pushed through kept going for all the rounds at the original expectations. And when I finished, I was so proud that I kept pushing through. Sometimes when we face challenges in our spiritual life, we have what it takes, we just need to push ourselves. We struggle, but we don’t give up and don’t let up, and then when the challenges pass, the victory feels all the sweeter.
God’s grace can help us succeed even when we think we will fail. We rejoice at that success, but then we increase our goals, because, like working out, we’re never done; there’s always more we can do. We can always love God and our neighbor more; we can always respond better to God’s grace; we can always trust God more and abandon our wills to His. We rejoice at our victories that we have had thus far, and then set new goals that push us more and more.
And maybe that’s why the Church has us rejoice today. No doubt, we have had success this Advent in recognizing Christ as He came to us and to those we know. I’m sure we have hoped even when we wanted to doubt. Rejoice in those goals you have accomplished by the grace of God. But do not rest on your laurels. Because we’re not done. We’re not done with Advent until Christmas, and we’re not done growing in our spiritual life until we die or until Christ returns in glory. But, if we have given our all this Advent; if we have given our all in life, then Christmas and the end of time will be the time of complete rejoicing that we have responded to God’s election of us, and that we are achieving faith’s goal: our salvation. [In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.]
