Advent Again

“God, make us new again.
Let your face smile on us with favor.
Then we will be saved.”
--Psalm 80:3

In an intriguing episode of the classic sci-fi tv show X-Files, Agent Scully, the female FBI agent heroine, was facing an uphill battle against cancer. Agent Scully was a driven career woman. She had gotten far with her brains, her talent, and her pluckiness. She was trained as a medical doctor and her faith was squarely in science.

Agent Scully was home for the holidays and her mother had a large meal planned. She invited family and friends, among them their parish priest. Father McKay took time to talk with Scully about her cancer and the faith she had forsaken. She firmly told Father McKay to get lost. She had no need for religious faith. Her career and her science would sustain her quite well.

As her cancer progressed and her doctors treat it more aggressively her attitude begins to change. She faces losing her career as she grows weaker and weaker. The science she dearly loved had not been able to save her. She became aware of her need to be connected to a higher power. In a moving scene, she apologized to her mother for being so abrupt with Father McKay and asked that he come to see her. The episode concluded with Father McKay at her bedside as they prayed together.

Agent Scully became aware of her deep need for God. The psalmist recognized this need when he cried out: “God, make us new again. Let your face smile on us with favor. Then we will be saved” (Psalm 80:3). It’s awareness hard to come by. After all, there is bit of Agent Scully in all of us. We fancy ourselves as independent and self-reliant. From an early age we are taught to be self-sufficient. All of this hinders the awareness of our need for God.

The Church calendar calls these weeks before Christmas Advent. In Advent, we anticipate God smiling on us with favor in the coming of Jesus Christ. These days before Christmas bring excellent opportunities to prepare for a fresh coming of Jesus into our lives. Recent events should convince us that there is no amount of money, no politician, no job, no scientific theory … no person or thing… that can be counted on to bring renewal to our lives. A proper understanding of our lives will lead us to an awareness of our great need for God. It is a constant need. Only a fresh advent of Jesus in our hearts can meet that need. We wait…we anticipate…we long for…the promised
coming of the Lord.

Let every heart prepare Him room!