Growing up as the son of a naval officer, there was often a sense of anticipation whenever my dad would come home from a deployment or drill. The same anticipation that made John the Baptist leap for joy in Elizabeth’s womb (cf. Lk. 1:41, 43) made me and my sisters leap up to greet my dad when he came back. It is the joy expressed in the first reading, which declares “Hark! My lover—here he comes!” (Sg. 2:8). We look forward to being with the one we love, and cannot contain our excitement when we see him on the horizon.
How do we have the same love for Jesus that John the Baptist has in today’s gospel? Think on the first reading, and all that the lover says to the beloved: “the winter is past, the rains are over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth” (Sg. 2:11-12). We recognize all the wonderful things about the one we love, and how wonderful life is when he is present. Have this same attitude towards Jesus. Ask how your life has been enriched by His presence, how it is deprived by His absence, and look to the horizon in anticipation of His coming at Christmas.