Advent 1B (1 Corinthians 1:3-9)

I once had an experience with a psychiatrist who was emphasizing his point to his patient how he’s giving full attention in his session. (I’m not sure whether he really gave his full attention to the patient because he picked up his phone in the middle of the session!) This sense of giving full attention, however, has stuck with me since then. ​

I often reflect on what it means for me to give my full attention to people who I encounter and ask myself, “Was I truly listening to my friend to fully understand or just to reply?” Or was I caught up in this habit of competitive listening in which I have a negative reaction to what is being said because of the person who is talking to me? What about confirmation bias that I simply interpret what others say as a means to reinforce or confirm my values or prior beliefs, rather than trying to understand as they are? Then I also ask myself whether I give my full attention to myself. 

What I’ve come to understand about this sense of giving full attention is how difficult it is to do that! Especially in this whole new world of carrying a small computer in the palms of our hands, it seems the more we connect with social media, the less we connect with ourselves and others (though our pandemic situation redirects us how we can better utilize our technology to connect with others). Our attention span used to be 12 seconds in 2000, and 8 seconds according to Microsoft’s 2015 study. Now, it probably is less than 8 seconds. 

At this point, you might wonder why I’m talking about this problem of attention. Here’s the reason why. I would like us to develop a spiritual practice of giving full attention as we enter into the season of Advent. As we wait for the coming of Christ, our spiritual preparation is quite simple that we just need to pay attention. Then, to what do we give our full attention? Nothing. No images. No words. I would like us to walk into the cloud of unknowing where we try not to think of anything else. Whenever a thought or a feeling arises, you can simply say simple words or phrases that can help you get back such as “God,” “love,” or “let go, let God.” These words or phrases are not to be reflected on but used as an anchor to ground you back in your being. That very moment of full attention, which would last less than 8 seconds, is when God’s presence is experienced. That we become aware of God’s presence in which we sense peace or serenity manifests we’re one with God. Pay attention to no thing since God is not a thing!

This presence of God in and of itself is the coming of God in us, Christ. Advent can be understood as the moment when we start giving full attention to the presence of God, the moment when we begin to set aside our thoughts and feelings so that God who is always present can reveal God’s loving countenance. In this moment, we see we have been God’s full attention! This spiritual practice of entering into the cloud of unknowing doesn’t demand anything but ourselves. This is the grace of God that St. Paul talks about in today’s lesson. It has been given you in Christ. The presence of God is the grace of God being available to us wherever and whenever we are. So that Paul is confident, “...you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He goes further, “He [God] will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We might have stumbled upon the word “blameless” but it’s possible. When we’re not tainted by any thoughts or feelings, we are indeed blameless. When we act while giving full attention to the presence of God and others, our acts are blameless and selfless. 

Due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, we’ll have more time for solitude, not loneliness or isolation, in which we can actually practice expanding our attention span. The more and deeper we encounter the presence of God, the more we love our union with God, and the more we become available to our neighbors in need. In a way, this spiritual practice of walking into the cloud of unknowing is a practice of forgetting oneself or as ancient contemplatives would say, “self-abandonment to God” that we ourselves are not in our own way to reach out to others in need. During this season of Advent, let us not be in the way. Let us set ourselves aside. Let us offer our full attention to the coming of God who has already come to us. Amen.