Do you ever get that feeling when you begin a project or an assignment and things line up in such a way that it gives you the chills? After looking at the readings for the Second Week of Advent, I believe that God is sending us a message during this incredibly pivotal moment of the pandemic. In the First Reading from Isaiah: “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end.” If written today? “I am giving you comfort. Listen to your health professionals and this pandemic will see an end!” After reading the first reading, I gave a head nod above, thanking God for the reminder that this season of Advent teaches us to be patient and through that patience we are gifted with the comfort of the Lord. 

As I moved onto the Responsorial Psalm, I was struck again: “Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.” My mind immediately went to the political and social events that have transpired over the last year. Kindness seems to have taken a vacation during some of this pandemic. We haven't been able to see the 'other' as our sister or brother. We've allowed differences in our thoughts to create chasms in our hearts. But here we are again...in the midst of an Advent Season with all of this despair in our world, and yet Christmas lights adorn homes everywhere and those lights remind us, as Sister Marguerite wrote in her #InstaAdvent Reflection that “Christ the Light of the World continues to give  HOPE especially during these times of uncertainty.” 

I was once again grateful for this reminder from our readings that we, especially during this Advent season, are called to be a loving presence in the world. But in all honesty - I wasn’t ready for what was coming next. In an amazingly well-timed first line from the Second Epistle of Peter: 

“Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.”

As the kids say...I feel seen. I think we can all agree that each day in this pandemic has felt like a thousand years, but how quickly we can forget the blessings we have received in spite of the chaos around us. It has been challenging. I have lost loved ones over the last couple of months. I haven’t seen many friends and family, especially my brother and his family, since mid-March. However, through distance and adversity, I have focused on ways to be more in contact with those who I am unable to see. In that sense and in those moments, a thousand years isn’t enough. As this Advent Season continues, let us continue to spread joy and let the Christmas lights around your neighborhood be a reminder that as John the Baptist states in the Gospel according to Mark “One mightier than I is coming after me.”