Jesus is THE Reason for ...

	Bishop David Zubik

In an earlier chapter of my life history, as a priest I was assigned by my Bishop to replace the same priest not once, not twice, but three distinct and consecutive times. One of the nice residuals of God's Providence in each of those assignments is that Tom, the priest whom I replaced three times, is now one of my friends. He, too, became a Bishop and now is the Shepherd of the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island.

Unfortunately, we don't see each other much but each time we do, I remind him that I replaced him three times. While I thank him for making each of those assignments easier, he (jokingly) contends that each time I was sent to replace him, I was assigned by the Bishop to clean up a mess he made. (There's not an ounce of truth therein.)

A d v e n t
• Other Advent articles

Each Advent I am reminded of a little jingle Tom would recite: "Jesus is THE Reason for ... the SEASON." How true, yet how sadly forgotten in our contemporary society.

Yes, in Advent and at Christmas, "Jesus is THE Reason for the Season" - a good reminder for all of us. It's so easy to be tempted by the sights, sounds and scents of this time of year to forget that fact - "Jesus is THE Reason for the Season."

Having begun Advent, we do not await the birth of an infant, The Infant. The Christ-child was born more than two millennia ago in the "Little Town of Bethlehem."

Advent, rather, reminds us that not just in the month of December, not just in each of the 365 days of the year, but each day of our lives, we need to actively await the second coming of Jesus and in at least two distinct ways.

We need to be prepared to meet Jesus at that defining moment when we breathe our last, when we cross over that one-way bridge from this life to the next, to that time when Jesus will let us know if we're on our way to Heaven or on the way to hell.

What happens at that moment will not really become a surprise. Most of us, if not all, will have a pretty good sense of what direction we're headed based on the way we've lived our lives in the here and the now.

The second "sense" of preparing for the second comings of Jesus becomes more critical for our consideration. How do we prepare for the coming of Jesus each day:

• How do we prepare to meet Him in our prayers - not just in saying our prayers, but in really talking with and listening to Him each day?

• How do we prepare to receive Him in all the people we meet - not just in those people it's easy to see Jesus, but especially in those people who seem to hide His presence?

• By what kind of gift giving do we prepare for Jesus? In the carefully selected and nicely wrapped boxes for family and friends? Or also for the unknown needy and forgotten?

• Who will benefit from our baking and cooking these days? Those guests who come to our homes? Or the hungry and homeless in our midst, too?

• How do we prepare to let Jesus into our minds and hearts when we go to Mass and as often as we should - at least every weekend, if not more?

• When we come to Mass, do we prepare to meet Jesus by really listening to (and not just hearing) His Word in the Scriptures?

• When we go to the celebration that is the Eucharist, do we know Who we receive in the Eucharist - Jesus Himself - and do we approach Him with awe, with care and with a desire to embrace His life in our own?

• Are we willing to make room for Jesus in "the inns" of our lives by doing some fasting from something we think we need or deserve?

If you would like a visual stimulus to help you prepare for the second coming of Jesus in your life, might I suggest something that has been helpful to me.

Currently, in our theaters, the movie The Nativity Story is being shown. It is a very warm and human rendition of how Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zachariah, the Shepherds and the Magi each welcomed Jesus in their lives. It profoundly moved me to take even more seriously what I need to do this Advent to make even more room "in the inn" of my heart for Jesus.

If you and I are serious about our faith, then we must all make room for Jesus.

My friend, Tom, is ever so right in his Advent jingle: "Jesus is THE Reason for the Season." How will you and I live that jingle in our lives?