Through an Advent glass, darkly

A meditation based on Mark 13:24-37

Don Friesen
November 27, 2011
Ottawa Mennonite Church
www.ottawamennonite.ca

Our Gospel reading sets the tone for this Advent season, and it's not a festive tone. It's a dark tone. : "...in those days, after ...suffering, the sun will be darkened, ...the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven...." (Mark 13:24-25) What was a constellation of heavenly light has become a constellation of darkness – although it being dark, one would be hard pressed to pick out the contours of any such constellation.

The Apostle Paul uses a phrase in 1 Corinthians that reads, in the King James Version, "For now we see through a glass, darkly...." (1 Corinthians 13:12, KJV) It's a quaint phrase which more modern translations have rendered differently; for example:

"We see in a mirror dimly." (NRSV)

"We see but a poor reflection as in a mirror...." (NIV)

"We are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim/blurred reflection of reality as in a riddle or enigma...." (AMP)

Or, the most imaginative translation:

"We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist." (MSG)

That's us at the beginning of Advent. We know we're waiting for the arrival of the Light of the World, but it's as if we're looking through an Advent glass, darkly. At this point in the story we don't know what the reaction of the powers-that-be will be. We don't know what the reaction of the Average Joe and Jill will be; ask any shepherd on a hillside, say, and chances are they're too busy combing out the wool coats of their flocks to care much about a baby, let alone break into song! What will be the reaction of the scholars? Will they see the significance of a baby at the end of their academic tunnel? What will be the reaction of the heavenly host? Will they even make an appearance? We don't know.

Even the nativity story itself is a dark story. It's filled with shadows, not least of which is the Slaughter of the Innocents (Matthew 2:16-18), a broad infanticide net cast in anticipation of nabbing the Holy Baby. The nativity story is also tailor-made for Canadians, as we move inexorably into the darkness of the winter solstice. Someone (Francis Anderson) wrote:

Like the Christmas pageant, the Christmas story must be told in order; it must follow the story-line, and it is through the fog of darkness, sorrow, and shadows that we must squint to try and make out some redemptive design. This is as the prophet Isaiah predicted it, that it is the "people who (walk) in darkness (who will see) a great light...." It is "those who (dwell) in a land of deep darkness, on (whom) ...light (will shine)." (Isaiah 9:2) Is it possible to glimpse hope through the fog of war? Is it possible to glimpse hope through the fog of greed? We look for hope, but it's difficult to discern through the distortions of violence and corruption. It's hard to confirm even a hint of hope through the gathering shadows of economic uncertainty. We have little clarity about what God is up to. Is God at work there somewhere in the shadows of poverty, infidelity, and sorrow? There is a gospel song entitled, "We'll Understand it Better by and by, " written (1905) by Charles Tindley (1851-1933), and it goes as follows:

Tindley wrote that song not to stifle intellectual curiosity, but because his people were suffering. His songs anticipate a time – as yet barely glimpsed – when the trials of God's people will finally be over. He encouraged them not to lose the hope of their convictions, for "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

Someone visiting a bazaar in Cairo watched someone making a rug, but she was baffled by the results of their work; it seemed but a meaningless jumble of colour and inept design. The supervisor, noticing her puzzlement, invited her to look at the rug from the other side, there to see the design clearly, for on that side was a beautiful array of complimentary colours and patterns.

There are times in life when the things that happen to us do not seem to make sense, when the design of our lives, and of life around us, seems lost in our confusion, if not our own pain and suffering, times when we see through a glass darkly. We have but a blurred vision of what is happening in our lives now, and we only know a small part of the overall design, but the day is coming when we'll understand it better. When life is complete, and we are able to look back from the perspective of eternity, we will be able to see how the pieces of the puzzle fit together in a design fashioned by the Master Artist.

Advent begins within an unsettling setting, but there is hope. If we squint, we may glimpse a faint light dawning with Christ's coming. If we strain to listen, we may begin to hear the songs of the angels! If we wait, and pray, God will come to us.

Quotations of Scripture are from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.