Sunday Reflection with Canon Robin Gibbons: 8 December 2024

Notre Dame de Paris

Second Sunday of Advent - Notre Dame de Paris a sign of hope

The beginning of Advent seems to have been a struggle for many of us, the political climate isn't good, the weather has just been horrible and world news full of uncertainty, there are good things, but these on the whole don't claim media attention , these are the normal nice events of daily life. But there is one joyful event I'd put into this wider category-that of the opening of the Cathedral and consecration of the altar of Notre Dame de Paris.

I became one of the telespectateurs of the Cathedral's online community a long time ago, often joining in their daily sung vespers and the Sunday evening Mass. I missed the venue when they moved to St Germain because of the restoration work, so on a purely personal level I am delighted that we shall be returning home. The fact that Notre Dame has captured the imagination of so many, that so many people such as artisans, craftsmen and women, archaeologists, workers, artists and designers have been involved, is a big reminder that people can get on, especially in a common cause.

But though it is a State Monument, one must never forget that Notre Dame is named after Our Lady, and has within its walls very near the new altar and ambo, her famous image, that of the beautiful medieval statue of ND of the pillar. Its primary role is as a Cathedral, and is used on a daily basis for the liturgical and spiritual life of a community. It is a living space where Our Lady greets those who love her, the Trinity is glorified and praised, and where Christ her son is present to us in so many ways.

The restoration of God in life

Following on from that image of the restoration of Notre Dame we can easily move into other, greater, images of restoration in our readings today. There is a sense here of completion taking place, a great happening, of rough edges being made smooth, paths made straight and a flourishing of Gods love with all peoples. These are hopeful readings, the figure of John the Baptist in the Gospel sums up both ancient hopes and future expectations. His chant is as true today as it ever was, ecologically we might quibble with the flattening of hills and filling in of valleys, but that isn't why this call is made. We have to see this as the coming of our God right into the heart of our existence, the valleys and hills are in one sense the barriers and sins of our own natures:

' "Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."'(Lk 3:4-6)

John still calls us all to be prepared and to actively look for the salvation of God in the here and now!

We are a sheltered people

Baruch, in our first reading adds a lovely touch to this persistent image of creating place and space for God to be with us, there might be a massive movement to alow God's glory to come into life, but there is aso a sense of new growth, the old tired world is being refreshed those 'age old depths and gorges' are being turned into new ways, and it is we, as God's people, that are doing this to remove any barrier between us and the '`glory of God'. This is not destructon but renewal, a bringing together of life in all kits aspects so that the Kingdom may be complete. I find this beautiful image from Baruch to be a calming, ennobling picture, of restoration and wholeness :

'The forests and every kind of fragrant tree

have overshadowed Israel at God's command;

For God is leading Israel in joy

by the light of his glory,

with the mercy and justice that are his'.(Bar 5:8,9.)

Doesn't that picture echo one of the great psalms we use in our liturgy for Compline, which hands us the knowledge that somehow in the end our God will do exactly as the psalmist says:

' Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

and abides in the shade of the Almighty

says to the Lord: "My refuge,

my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!"(ps 91: 1,2))

A journey into hope

If we juxtapose that beautiful scene of the trees bending over to shelter us with the shelter of the Most High we can discover in those prophetic words of Baruch and the proclamation of John, not fear, nor despair, but the joyful confidence that all shall be well, borne out of sure and certain hope.

May this Advent be for us all a real journey into hope. May Our Lady whose feast we celebrate on December 8th, Notre Dame, who through the restoration of the Cathedral named in her honour, has in such a real way, become known throughout the world be always a sign of joy. And may John the Baptist, forerunner of the Lord, help us become prophets of gladness. The Glory of the Most High is upon us, our song is that of our responsorial psalm:

'Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves'.(Ps 126:6)

Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus , come!

LECTIO

Reading

Phil 1:4-6, 8-11

Brothers and sisters:
I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the gospel
from the first day until now.
I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work in you
will continue to complete it
until the day of Christ Jesus.
God is my witness,
how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.

Psalm 91(90)

1 Whosoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High, and abides in the shade of the Almighty,

2 says to the LORD, "My refuge, my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!"

3 He will free you from the snare of the fowler, from the destructive plague;

4 he will conceal you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness is buckler and shield.

5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the plague that prowls in the darkness, nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.

7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand fall at your right: you it will never approach.

8 Your eyes have only to look to see how the wicked are repaid.

9 For you, O LORD, are my refuge. You have made the Most High your dwelling. 10 Upon you no evil shall fall, no plague approach your tent.

11 For you has he commanded his angels to keep you in all your ways.

12 They shall bear you upon their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. 13 On the lion and the viper you will tread, and trample the young lion and the serpent.

14 Since he clings to me in love, I will free him, protect him, for he knows my name.

15 When he calls on me, I will answer him; I will be with him in distress; I will deliver him, and give him glory.

16 With length of days I will content him; I will show him my saving power.