“Ready or Not, Here I Come!”

Today’s reflection is by Bondings 2.0 contributor Michael Sennett.

Today’s liturgical readings for the First Sunday of Advent can be found here.

“Ready or not, here I come!”

Hide-and-seek is a delight for my fiancé’s five-year-old son, “A.” Covering my eyes and counting to ten has become a regular part of my routine with him. Meditating on the anticipation and joy of Advent kept leading me back to A.’s anticipation and joy for hide-and-seek.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus urges his disciples to “be watchful” and “be alert,” emphasizing the uncertainty of when the Lord is coming. Like Advent, hide-and-seek requires that we be alert and watchful. Whether we are the hider or seeker, there is uncertainty about when and where the finding will occur. We will eventually be found or do the finding, but the exact moment of revelation remains a mystery.

A., like most young children, has a knack for hiding in visible spots. In an effort to prolong the game, I’ll come close to where he’s hiding, and then circle around before I “officially” find him. During a recent game, seeing A. hidden in plain sight struck me as an image of my own attempts to hide as a Catholic trans man. Try as we might though, we can’t hide ourselves from God.

For LGBTQ+ Catholics, hiding our identities is not a game. It is often a necessity to avoid judgment, discrimination, and, at times, violence. Not all queer Catholics have the privilege of a welcoming parish or faith community. But just as A. is not always as invisible as he thinks, we are never hidden from God’s gaze, even when we think we are well-hidden. Such a powerful realization speaks to the heart of our existence: God created us in love, exactly as we are. Our authentic selves are never concealed from She who sees beyond the surface, beyond the masks—and into the depths of our true identity.

Waking to this truth empowers LGBTQ+ Catholics to be watchful of God’s enduring presence in our lives, and it helps us cultivate a readiness to encounter the Spirit. God is a vigilant seeker who is eager to find us but doesn’t disclose when that moment will happen. Staying alert opens our hearts to Her love—a relationship we meet with anticipation and joy.

My own awakening has been rooted in the Ignatian approach of finding God in all things. God is not just the seeker; She is also present in the ordinary, waiting to be discovered in the everyday moments of our lives. But, like my strategy with my hide-and-seek partner, how often do we pretend not to notice God in our lives, circling around Her presence, both visible and hidden? We may approach the hiding places but hesitate to fully acknowledge God’s existence. Whether our avoidance is out of fear, anger, sadness, confusion, or another emotion, God still remains near to us, waiting patiently to be found.

Staying awake to encounters with God is an act of conscious presence. It means acknowledging Her presence in the highs and lows, in the joys and sorrows, in the ordinary and extraordinary of our lives as LGBTQ+ Catholics. Our Advent journey is an opportunity to find God, open our hearts to Her love, and rejoice together.

Jesus’ words resonate not as a stern command but as an invitation. The divine seeker calls out, “Watch!” not to catch us unawares but to engage in a dance of revelation and response. The challenge is to be fully present, to shed the layers of hiding and awaken to the truth that, in God’s eyes, we are seen, known, and profoundly loved.

So, ready or not, here comes Love Incarnate—unconditional and ever-present. In the love of Jesus is the joy of being found, of encountering the divine in the ordinary moments of our lives. May we embrace the invitation to be watchful, alert, and open to the endless possibilities of encountering God’s love in all things throughout the Advent season.

—Michael Sennett, December 3, 2023