Our King and Savior is coming; let us run to meet him! "Good news
from afar country," in the words of Solomon, "is like cold water to
a thirsty soul" and to announce the coming of our Savior and the
reconciliation of the world, together with the good things of the
life to come, is to bring good news indeed.
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good tidings and publish peace!”
Such messengers truly bear a refreshing draught to the soul that
thirsts for God; with their news of the Savior’s coming, they
joyfully draw and offer us water from the springs of salvation.
In the words and spirit of Elizabeth, the soul responds to the
message, whether it be of Isaiah or of his
fellow-prophets: "Why is this granted to me, that my Lord
should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came
to my ears," my spirit leapt for joy within me in eager longing to
run ahead to meet my God and Savior.
Let us too arise with joy and run in spirit to meet our Savior.
Hailing him from afar, let us worship him, saying: Come, Lord, "save
me and I shall be saved!" Come and "show us your face, and we shall
all be saved. We have been waiting for you; be our help in time of
trouble." This was how the prophets and saints of old ran to meet
the Messiah, filled with immense desire to see with their eyes, if
possible, what they already saw in spirit.
We must look forward to the day, so soon to come, on which we
celebrate the anniversary of Christ’s birth. Scripture itself
insists on the joy which must fill us—a joy which will lift our
spirit out of itself in longing for his coming, impatient of delay
as it strains forward to see even now what the future holds in
store.
I believe that the many texts of scripture which urge us to go out
to meet him speak of Christ’s first coming as well as his
second. This may raise a query in your mind. Surely, however, we are
to understand that as our bodies will rise up rejoicing at his
second coming, so our hearts must run forward in joy to greet his
first.
Between these two comings of his, the Lord frequently visits us
individually in accordance with our merits and desires, forming us
to the likeness of his first coming in the flesh, and preparing us
for his return at the end of time. He comes to us now, to make sure
that we do not lose the fruits of his first coming nor incur his
wrath at his second. His purpose now is to convert our pride into
the humility which he showed when he first came, so that he may
refashion our lowly bodies into the likeness of that glorious body
which he will manifest when he comes again.
Grace accompanied his first coming, glory will surround his last;
this intermediate coming is a combination of both, enabling us to
experience in the consolations of his grace a sort of foretaste of
his glory. Blessed are those whose burning love has gained for them
such a privilege!
And so, my brothers, though we have not yet experienced this
wonderful consolation, we are encouraged by firm faith and a pure
conscience to wait patiently for the Lord to come. In joy and
confidence let us say with Saint Paul: "I know the one in whom I
have put my trust, and I am confident of his power to guard what has
been put into my charge until the day when our great God and Savior
Jesus Christ comes in glory." May he be praised for ever and ever!
Amen.
Second Sermon for Advent 1-4: SC 166, 104-116
Guerric of Igny (c.1070/l080-1157), about whose early life little is known, probably received his education at the cathedral school of Tournai, perhaps under the influence of Odo of Cambrai (1807-1092). He seems to have lived a retired life of prayer and study near the cathedral of Toumai. He paid a visit to Clairvaux to consult Saint Bernard, and is mentioned by him as a novice in a letter to Ogerius in 1125/1256. He became abbot of the Cistercian abbey of Igny, in the diocese of Rheims in 1138. A collection of 54 authentic sermons preached on Sundays and feast days has been edited. Guerric’s spirituality was influenced by Origen.