The twelfth century monk Bernard of Clairvaux wrote that there are three advents. The first one is the one we know best, when God took on flesh in the birth of Jesus. The third is one many Christians look forward to at the end of time. These two advents exist in ways we can wrap our heads around: a clear beginning and a promised end.
But Bernard also spoke of a second advent, the one closest to us and yet often the hardest to grasp. This advent is the one in the present, when God dwells in our own hearts and the world we inhabit. It is not something we read about only in ancient scripture or imagine in a distant future. It is the advent is the one that involves us – weak and flawed as we are – and the messy, complicated relationships of our daily lives. The second advent is where God meets us in the stranger, the outcast, and even our enemy. It’s tough stuff.
One of my favorite quotes about Room In The Inn comes from Carla Bellenfant, a volunteer from First Baptist Church of Goodlettsville. In a documentary interview, she laughed as she talked about her experience: “When I started, they would open the door and they would come in and I would think, gee, they are scary looking! Some of them are big and hairy and dirty and scary. And God would whisper in my ear, ‘Yeah! And welcome them in!’” Carla had recognized the second advent. Christ was at the door, looking big and hairy and dirty and scary, and the Christ in Carla welcomed them in.
This week, we focus on following the way of peace. Rather than thinking of peace only as the beautiful song of angels from long ago or a dream of some future, perhaps our calling this season is to remember the peace God creates through us in this second advent. Maybe our task is to recognize the potential for peace that is all around us— even in this weary, broken world—and choose to welcome it in.
As Bernard said, “If you wish to meet God, go as far as your own heart.”
