Advent Anxiety info 2022
advent anxiety? Jesus doesn't tell us not to be afraid. He tells us not to be discouraged. The season of Advent, the beginning of the liturgical year, offers us scripture readings that make us think about the possibility of finding a new life in unexpected places. An end brings a beginning; terrible apocalyptic images are a place for new hope; in the desert we hear words of wisdom, an older woman and a virgin are pregnant; and we are promised that salvation will be found in a helpless newborn. We are thinking about these dichotomies and impossibilities associated with the end of the calendar year. Our New Year's resolutions of eleven months ago, whatever they were, are now a distant memory, and what remains of this year is planned and reserved, leaving little room for last-minute change. Everything around us reminds us of the finals. In some cases, we are happy with our performance, decisions and experiences, and in others it leaves us disappointed. Disappointments have a staying power for a long time, disappointment feels like an incomplete project. You've imagined a different outcome and your inability to let go is in a way a desperate search for a new way to get to the end you expect. Advent prepares us to see our unexpected end as sacred ground where God's grace drives us to new courage and determination.
There are many things that must be disappointed this year. I am disappointed that so many of our American bishops have adopted political rhetoric that deeply hurts the hearts of faithful social justice leaders who work tirelessly for the good of humanity and deeply hurt the hearts of all Catholics who support these movements and institutions. I am disappointed that it was not long before Pope Francis' synod revealed that the institutional church in the United States is not structurally prepared to listen to the needs and hopes of God's people. I am disappointed that President Biden failed to address the urgent needs of immigrants and refugees on our borders. I am disappointed in the verdict of Kyle Rittenhouse, a verdict that essentially gives civilian vigilantes the green light to monitor civil rights protests and further instills in the culture of American public weapons and power over human life. I am disappointed that we have been in this global pandemic for almost two years and we are still discussing the science behind masks and vaccines. All these disappointments that are not mentioned, among other things, can fill us with despair and ask us how we got here and doubt whether we can get out of it.
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus instructs his disciples to “stand up and raise their heads because their salvation is near” in the midst of the cosmic and earthly turmoil that will precede his second coming (Luke 21:28). He also warns that our hearts are burdened with the fears of daily life (Luke 21:34). The disappointments I have listed above, not to mention my personal misfortune, have become a powerful source of anxiety for me and for many Catholics I work with. It's important to keep in mind that Jesus doesn't tell us not to be anxious. He tells us not to be discouraged by it. These apocalyptic readings, read through the lens of Advent and Incarnation, confirm the human experience. Disappointment and fear are valid. Our human experience, in this life, establishes our faith in the place where we are called to the best of our strength to be conscious in our daily decisions, including how we choose to respond to our disappointments.
The biggest temptation when I list my disappointments is to give up. Chronic anxiety can make us useless. Much of what we have experienced and continue to experience can be overwhelming, so Jesus' invitation to “stand up and raise our heads” is an encouraging word at a time when the problems facing the institutional church and nation may seem too big and out of reach. The last verse proclaimed on this first Sunday of Advent is an invitation to pray for strength, and that prayer is effective. This Advent grace is necessary to keep hope alive and move on.
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