Emptying ourselves as a reservoir to be filled

With the possible exception of Katrina, no Christmas in our lifetime will be quite like the one we will celebrate in 2020.

The weariness, the anxiety and the confusion produced by the pandemic are similar to the harsh realities we in New Orleans experienced in 2005.

As Advent approaches, the waiting for what might be in store next adds more worries to a community already shaken by disease, isolation, political division and social incivility.

Pass the lumps of coal.

What a perfect time, then, says Marianite Sister Judy Gomila, for Advent 2020.

When Sister Judy was a sprite of a novice in the 1950s, she recalls reading a fascinating book composed of lyrical essays by Caryll Houselander, entitled “The Reed of God.”

Houselander’s thesis was that Mary – the mother of God – was “empty with a purpose.”

“She was empty so that she might be filled to give birth to Christ,” Sister Judy recalled.

Every year, Sister Judy returns to “The Reed of God” to be refilled, and Houselander’s insights never cease to amaze her.

Houselander uses three images of Mary as “The Reed of God”: Mary is a reed growing by the river, who has to be “hollowed out in order to make music, like a flute”; she is like a bird’s nest, cobbled together from reeds and twigs and string “to make a nice, warm spot” for the eggs in her nest; and she is like a golden chalice, beaten and fired to become “the empty spot where ultimately the body and blood of Christ will be.”

“The whole scene is emptiness with a purpose, with a prayer,” Sister Judy said. “Because of the pandemic, we have been through some emptiness. We weren’t able to receive the Eucharist for so long, and some people still can’t receive it. People couldn’t see their grandchildren or other family members. They couldn’t go to their favorite restaurant.

“For some people, it was a lot worse – they lost jobs, there’s a great food insecurity. So, we’ve had a kind of emptiness that has been thrust upon us.”

   This can lead us to being more “open to receiving Christ – to being Christ,”  she said. “The idea of emptiness challenges us to be who we’re meant to be.”

The idea is not simply to “wait” for Christmas as though it were a date circled on the calendar but to actually “prepare” for Christmas with a series of intentional acts and behaviors.

“We’re all doing so much waiting right now,” Sister Judy said. “We keep waiting for the next step: Phase 1.2, 2.3, whatever. We’re waiting for the pandemic to end. But if we don’t do something internally, it just turns out to be waiting. It’s like you’re at the end of the line at the grocery store – just waiting. We can be intentional about our own prayer and preparation. There are so many little booklets people can pick up at church to take that 5, 10 or 15 minutes a day with whatever the theme of the day is.”

Since Christmas is seen best through the eyes of our children and grandchildren, Sister Judy says parents and grandparents can stoke their fertile imaginations with stories and other activities.

Rather than use the expensive porcelain crib or Nativity set, give small children a small crib they can touch and hold to feel a part of the Christmas story.

She’s not opposed to Mr. Bingle or Rudolph, but Advent is a perfect time to read the children’s book called “The Tale of Three Trees.” The trees have great plans for themselves when they grow up. One tree becomes the crib where Jesus was born; one becomes the boat from which Jesus preached to crowds; and the other becomes the cross on which he was crucified.

“These are wonderful image stories for children, but adults can get so much joy from it as well,” Sister Judy said.

With so much of the world in darkness right now, it’s time to look within, Sister Judy said. That would be the best Christmas present ever.

“Instead of throwing darts at the clergy scandal, I’d rather look at myself and my own thoughts and feelings and not be pointing fingers at others,” she said. “That’s not so easy for me because I have opinions about everything. But Advent affords us the time to see. Let’s go back to the idea of emptiness. What would a kind of emptiness cost me, getting rid of my opinions, my judgments, my rash concerns about others? What do I need to be emptied of?”

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