The season of Advent in the Roman Catholic calendar anticipates the coming of Christ from three different perspectives: Christ’s physical birth in Bethlehem; the daily sacramental and spiritual reception of Christ into the hearts of believers through the liturgy, prayer and charitable works; and the eschatological Second Coming of Christ at the end of time, the Bible’s parousia. The present name Advent comes from the Latin “adventus” meaning coming or arrival which translates from the New Testament’s Greek word “parousia” which originally in the Scriptures referred to the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time.
The triple comings of Christ are clearly and appropriately celebrated in this coming Sunday’s Scripture readings. The Gospel passage which begins this new liturgical year is taken from the writings of St. Matthew in which the words of Christ regarding the Second Coming are very clear: “Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come….So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (Mt.24:44). In the second reading, St. Paul to the Romans makes clear that the arrival of Christ into the believer’s life is not just a future event but rather one that must be acknowledged daily in this present life: “Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand” (Rm.13:11-12). And even the prophecy from Isaiah offers a broad hint that that salvation will arrive from the ancestral land of Israel, from the Jewish nation from which Christ took flesh: “For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Is.2:3). So the future’s promise, the present’s challenge and the past’s history are all celebrated and pondered this month as the secular world’s date book concludes, and the Christian world’s timetable begins.
Historians point out that it was at least since the time of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153), that Christians have spoken of these three comings of Christ: in the flesh at Bethlehem, in our hearts daily, and in glory at the end of time. The earlier, first Christians were certainly absorbed with the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time. Believers were quitting their jobs and refraining from marriage in anticipation of Christ’s early return within their own lifetime. The Church at Thessalonica was especially concerned that Christians who had died would miss out on eternal glory to be effected by Christ’s glorious return, so St. Paul comforts them: “For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus, we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words” (Thes.4:16-18).
As this Second Coming of Christ became increasingly delayed, the believing Church became increasingly absorbed with the historical Christ, the God who became man in the womb of Mary at Nazareth. The Church of the third, fourth and fifth centuries was wrapped up with the humanity of Christ as the carefully worded Nicene Creed bears witness: “...one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages...begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father...and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” So Christ’s first coming in flesh—his Divine nature, his human nature, Nazareth and Bethlehem, Gabriel and Mary, the Judean shepherds and the Persian kings, all the details of the Incarnation increasingly began to engage believers’ pious thoughts. The triple significance of Advent was beginning to take shape.
As the Church became more comfortable with the triumphant Christ of the future and the suffering Christ of the past, the transforming Christ of the present became more and more real for the growing Christian community. Perhaps the celebrated “O” antiphons of the eighth century best bring out the increasing place of Christ in the daily lives of believers. They are a mixture of Scriptural imagery—Wisdom, Giver of the Law, Root of Jesse, Key of David, Radiant Dawn, King, Keystone, Emmanuel—and practical needs for a full Christian life: “...teach us the path to knowledge...rescue us with your mighty power...save us without delay...free the prisoners of darkness...shine on those who dwell in darkness...save man formed from dust...save us, Lord our God!” So present needs as well as past events and future hopes began to complete the fullness of Advent as dutifully and piously observed by the Church today. Come, Lord Jesus!
