Advent Begins with Waiting
A Poem for the First Sunday of Advent
Today is the official beginning of Advent in the Western Rite of the Catholic Church (our Eastern brothers and sisters have already begun their liturgical lead up to Christmas). For today, I want to share a poem I wrote in my book Liturgical Entanglements. This poem seeks to look at Advent from the perspective of the post-exile Israelites, waiting for the Messiah.
God’s many blessings on you this Advent.
"How Long?" How long, O Lord, must we wait for your return? How long until you answer the cries of your people? We cast our eyes up where the temple steeple Once stood tall, but now in fire burns. Just like the leaves in Autumn, our lives are turned From life to death as part of your deep will Which we cannot fathom except as our feet well Traveled lead to the exiled home we earned. The gates of David’s city are now locked And the key which will unlock them has been hidden, But still, the psalms are written on our hearts Calling forth the Man of Sorrows, bidden To unlock the Gates of Heaven, his holy part.
Thank you for this, David. We sang “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” in both our morning and evening services today. Reading your poem, my mind called up the line “O come, Thou Key of David come...”