2 December 2018
First Sunday of Advent
“I love it when a plan comes together.” That was a catchphrase from a 1980’s television show called “The A-Team.” It expressed the satisfaction of the A-Team’s leader, Hannibal, when he saw his soldiers of fortune successfully defend the innocent, according to his plan. Hannibal’s catchphrase resonated with ordinary viewers who so often strive to experience that same sense of satisfaction in their creative endeavors, in their jobs, in their homes and in their personal lives.
If you lived in the magical world of Hollywood, and if you had a problem, and no one else could help, and if you could find them, then maybe you could have hired the A-Team. And, as soon as the A-Team showed up, you would probably be pretty happy, because the A-Team never loses. Hannibal always devises a plan which comes together in the end. Even before you get to the end, even before you know what the plan is, you would be confident of a happy outcome, no matter the odds, as long as you knew that the A-Team was on your side.
Doesn’t Advent convey a similar feeling of confident joy? We do not live in the magical world of Hollywood, awash, as it is, in Atheist superstition, but in the real world, where God really exists and really interacts with men, women and children, just as he has for thousands of years. God foretold (Cf. Jer. 33:14-16) that he would fulfill his promise to the house of Israel and Judah, that he would raise up for David a just shoot to do what is right and just in the land, so that Judah would be safe and Jerusalem would dwell secure. God did indeed fulfill this promise when he sent his only Son to this earth. The arrival of God’s Son betokens for us a happy outcome, no matter the odds against us. It is as if the A-Team has shown up and is now fighting on our side, only much more so. God’s plan for us is much more clever than anything Hannibal could have conceived, and it is much more loving and fair and beautiful, to boot. God’s plan is coming together. Let us be faithful and rejoice.