Advent Reflections Day 20: Our Humble Cries of “Maranatha” in tune with David’s “Maranatha” in Psalm 132

 Psalm 132:1-10

Now on the 20^th day of December, 5 more days to celebrate Christmas, the arrival of the incarnated Christ, at his birth, given by Mary, in Bethlehem, about 2,000 years ago, what is in our minds?

Anxious to see the incarnated Christ in his theophany?

Are we on the right mind-set and really ready to witness the arrival of the incarnated Christ at any moment?

Or, are we stressed out with all these noises and lights of the world?

Remember, how Zechariah envisioned the coming of Christ prophetically, as the daybreak from the heaven above in his Benedictus (Luke 1:78), upon the birth of his son, John the Baptist, knowing that John was born to prepare the way of the coming of Christ (Luke 1:76-77)? And, Zechariah also indicated that the coming of Christ is out of the mercy of God the Father (Luke 1:78).

So, let us remember that what is behind the coming of Christ the Son is the mercy of God the Father.

It is, in God the Father’s merciful response to our cries out of the depth of the darkness of our sins, reflected in Psalm 130, that Christ has been sent to us.

So, we raise our cries for God’s mercy out of the depth of the darkness of our sins, trusting that God of mercy will wipe away the darkness of our sins, as the rising sun at the daybreak will spell out the darkness of night.

But, we do our part with penance, while God is doing His part with mercy.

So, we now make sure that we are with our humble heart, renewing our hope for Christ, as reflected in Psalm 131.

With his humble heart, David was in eager and vigilant hope to have the dwelling place of God, as he sung in Psalm 132.

After Saul’s fall, David worked and fought hard to establish Jerusalem not only as the place of his reign as king of Israel but also where God dwells for the kingdom. For this reason, David brought the Ark of Covenant to Jerusalem.  For David, being king of Israel means his service to God, knowing that he was anointed as king of Israel to shepherd the people of God. And, as  God’s servant, David was hoping to have the permanent dwelling place of God, replacing the Ark of the Covenant, which was considered as a temporary place of God.

In Psalm 132, David sung his heart for God’s permanent dwelling place and his vow to remain vigilant until he secure the perfect dwelling place of God.

Remember, the running theme of vigilance from the day one of Advent to prepare ourselves for the arrival of the incarnated Christ?

Our vigilant hope for the arrival of Christ is also reflected in Zechariah’s prophecy of the coming of Christ as the daybreak (Luke 1:78).

So, David sings:

I will not enter the house where I live, nor lie on the couch where I sleep; I will give my eyes no sleep, my eyelids no rest, till I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob (Psalm 132:3-5).

Perhaps, David was originally thinking of building the Temple for God. But, as  God indicated to David through prophet Nathan, it is not David to build the house of God but it is God to build the house of David into the permanent Kingdom with his offspring, implying to Christ, who is Davidic King (2 Samuel 7:5-16).

So, how do we apply David’s desire for God’s dwelling place?

It is our hearts, which we have been prepared as the place for Christ to arrive and to dwell upon his arrival. For this reason, we have heeded John the Baptist’s call to prepare the way of Christ, who is coming. And, as David disciplined himself to stay with vigilant hope for the dwelling place of God to be established, we have been so ever since the first day of Advent.

So, we sing now, “Arise, Christ the Lord, come to our hearts, your resting place after a long long journey that you have taken, ever since before the Creation, before the time began”, in line with David’s singing, “Arise, Lord, come to your resting place, you and your mighty ark”(Psalm 132:8).

This is our humble “maranatha” cry with our vigilant hope, in line with King David’s voice in Psalm 132, while the incarnated Christ in Mary, on the donkey, accompanied by Joseph, is coming nearer and nearer, only 5 days away.