Do you remember being at a crowded church or dinner party where you could feel each other’s energy, hear each other’s voices, and see each other’s faces? During these times of pandemic, what we’re so often left with is a mediated reality: pictures, videos, Zoom calls. If we’re fortunate enough to see loved ones, there’s a mask that separates us from the fullness of their smile. We’re left longing for a true and full connection.
This longing is not unlike what so many voices in the Old Testament express in relation to God. In today’s first reading, the prophet Isaiah, addressing the Lord, declares “you have hidden your face from us.” Similarly, the psalm pleads, “let us see your face and we shall be saved.”
Advent is about connecting with the people of faith that came before us who longed for a connection with the living God. It is about remembering that God in His infinite mercy has shown us His face in Jesus Christ, connecting our humanity with His divinity. It is about waiting in joyful hope for the time of a truer and fuller connection with God and with one another.
During this time of Advent in a pandemic, let us be watchful and alert, seeking the Lord in all things, waiting with joyful hope to see His face more fully in Him and in our neighbor.