In the Western Catholic tradition, this time of Advent — roughly coinciding with the darkening month of December — is a time of imploration for justice. The faithful know that such a request is answered with the birth of the Savior, yet they are not spared from invoking such a birth in earnest.
There is an already/not yet dynamic in place, as in many other cases in the Christian tradition. The fact that the Savior was born in Bethlehem does not mean that justice has triumphed, and yet it does mean that justice is possible. The seed of justice has been planted, we might say.
Advent liturgical texts — read and sung — are derived mostly from the books of Isaiah and Psalms, and especially from those portions describing the potent imminent action of God for a people in exile and exhausted, unable to find a solution to their miserable condition.
Two verses in particular encapsulate the true spirit of Advent: Rorate coeli desuper, et nubes pluant Justum! (Oh heavens, weep down, and may the clouds rain the Just One!) et Aperiatur terram, et germinat Salvatorem! (May the earth open up, and the Savior sprout from it!).
By conveying meanings apparently in opposition to each other — will the Christ appear from the sky or from the earth? — these two verses act synergistically upon the minds of the faithful. On one side, it is true and unavoidable that the justice that we humans try to create on earth is radically insufficient, and we must implore the heavens to help us; on the other side, the “real thing” is only the justice which sprouts among us, from the very soil of the earth, and is embodied by people like us, made of such soil.
Advent is a time to meditate deeply about such things, without necessarily looking for a solution. The paradoxical mystery of the presence and the absence of justice should instead lead us to an inner transformation, a conversion of our thinking habits.
Caro cardo salutis (the flesh is the pivot of salvation/spiritual health) is an ancient Christian motto which we could keep musing upon, in the context of the appearing of the Just One that is celebrated at Christmas.
The archetypal image of the seed that is planted in the deep earth in winter, only to germinate in the spring, is worthy of some meditation when we become unsure about the amount of energy that we can put into the work for justice. Especially in this darkening time — if we live in the Northern Hemisphere.
A very deep chapter about our work in darkness, immersed in the via negativa, is found in Matthew Fox’s The Reinvention of Work, where he says that the source of things is a deep, dark mystery and that being is indeed born of nonbeing, surprise from doubt, light from darkness, joy from sorrow, hope from despair.
Have a blessed meditation, dear readers, upon such dark, deep, and awesome things!
Banner Image: “Peace, Justice, and Unity.” Mural by the Public Art Squad, 1984, at Pilgrim House, commissioned by Pitt St Parish. Photo by the Jam Project on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
What touches you especially in this medley of Advent themes? If you read this meditation while living in the Southern Hemisphere, would you care to tell us about your experience of Advent there?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood For Our Time, p. 51
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic–and Beyond
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
5 thoughts on “Advent and the Seed of Justice”
Does the birth of something new sprout from a hemispheric location, an ideology, or fall from the sky? Or is it the Spirit anywhere and everywhere in action? Is it not the Spirit that brought us all here? More so, to whom do we hail? — BB.
Thank you GG for today’s DM about comparing this Advent season to the via negativa/Dark Night of our spiritual journeys of the eternal birth of CHRIST/LOVING DIVERSE ONENESS in our personal and communal lives with Sacred Mother Earth/Her living creatures and All Spiritual beings/dimensions of Our Sacred evolving Cosmos in the Divine LOVING Flow of the ETERNAL PRESENT MOMENT….
Thanks Gianluigi. My understanding is that the more we act in a conscious, spiritual way in accordance with “God’s Laws”, the more the “Angelic Realm” can intervene. It gives rise to the saying, “Take one step towards God and God will take two steps towards us”; the point being that we need to demonstrate our own efforts and goodwill first.
Being open to heavens raining “the Just” implies that space is made on Earth to receive that rain and to allow “the Just” to sprout. A leitmotiv in Meister Eckhart’s sermons is that the Divine will enter the soul that has made room by emptying itself from attachment (including attachment to images of the Divine). The short days and barren landscapes in this time of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere) are favorable to the inner work of “letting go and letting God” so that the spiritual alchemy of Incarnation may take place. As Angelus Silesius put it: “Christ could be born a thousand times in Bethlehem—but all in vain until He is born in me.”
Amen.