PREPARING OUR
HEARTS
As we make our journey through the
Advent season, a time of spiritual preparation for the birth of the Savior, we
learn to set our gaze in two directions.
First, we look inwardly and examine our own souls. In this first gaze we learn of the state of
our lives in need of Christ, and we begin to make efforts to place our
spiritual lives in order. Our second
gaze results from the first. Having made
an account of our souls and recognized our deficiencies, we turn our eyes to
Christ, who alone can set our lives aright.
Having completed the first week of Advent, we come this week to sit at
the feet of Saint Bernard, and listen attentively as this spiritual master
exhorts us regarding the coming of the Lord.
We
know that there are three comings of the Lord. The third lies between the other
two. It is invisible, while the other two are visible. In the first coming he
was seen on earth, dwelling among men; he himself testifies that they saw him
and hated him. In the final coming all flesh will see the salvation of our God,
and they will look on him whom they pierced. The intermediate coming is a
hidden one; in it only the elect see the Lord within their own selves, and they
are saved. In his first coming our Lord came in our flesh and in our weakness;
in this middle coming he comes in spirit and in power; in the final coming he
will be seen in glory and majesty.
In case
someone should think that what we say about this middle coming is sheer
invention, listen to what our Lord himself ways: “If anyone loves me,
he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.”
There is another passage of Scripture which reads: “He who fears
God will do good,” but something
further has been said about the one who loves, that is, that he will keep God’s
word. Where is God’s word to be kept? Obviously in the heart, as the prophet
says: “I have hidden your words in my heart, so that I may not sin
against you.”
Keep God’s
word in this way. Let it enter into your very being, let it take possession of
your desires and your whole way of life. Feed on goodness, and your soul will
delight in its richness. Remember to eat your bread, or your heart will wither
away. Fill your soul with richness and strength.
Because
this coming lies between the other two, it is like a road on which we travel
from the first coming to the last. In the first, Christ was our redemption; in
the last, he will appear as our life; in this middle coming, he is our rest and
consolation.
If you
keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you. The Son with the
Father will come to you. The great Prophet who will build the new Jerusalem
will come, the one who makes all things new. This coming will fulfill what is
written: As we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, we shall also bear
the likeness of the heavenly man. Just as Adam’s sin spread through all mankind
and took hold of all, so Christ, who created and redeemed all, will glorify
all, once he takes possession of all.
