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Advent is a season both for contemplating and for imitating the sharp-eyed men and women of Scripture. Not those whose eyesight would have tested 20/20, but all those ancestors in faith who kept their eyes open, looking for the coming of the Lord. Some, like the Old Testament prophets, scanned the horizon for signs of the Messiah who would reveal God's glory. Others had the spiritual vision to recognize and receive that Messiah when he came as a vulnerable infant in a manger.
During Jesus’ life, the people around him caught glimpses of his glory as well. To some—like the shepherds and, later, the apostles who saw Jesus transfigured—it came in a very dramatic way. But most of the time, people saw Jesus’ glory in everyday moments and encounters. Think of Elizabeth recognizing his presence in Mary; of Simeon and Anna, who spotted him from among the many babies brought to the Temple; or of Nicodemus and the woman at the well.
“Come and see,” Jesus told Andrew in one of those everyday encounters (John 1:39). And now, he extends that invitation to each one of us. How should we respond? One of the best ways is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For it is as we repent of our sins that we allow the Holy Spirit to remove the clouds from our…
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