Hearers of the Word
Hearers of the Word
HW: Tripping over joy...for the birth of the saviour
A reflection for first Sunda of Advent 2025, written and spoken by Kieran J. O'Mahony OSA.
Gentle piano music to close the meditation
John’s Lane
D08 F8NW
Advent 1A25
30 November 2025
Welcome
From today, we have three and a half weeks to Christmas Day. This is, perhaps, good news even for shoppers, though words such as frantic and costly come to mind. But maybe this year, we — I — could choose how to arrive at the great feast of the birth of Jesus refreshed in mind and spirit. As one four year old put it once at a children’s Mass, with the bell-like clarity of children, we are celebrating the birth of God. Something worth celebrating!
Topic
So, how can we arrive at Christmas refreshed, more awake, more alive?
Steps
The key is to be open to the surprise of God. I am reminded of a poem by a great spiritual master — the Persian poet Hafiz, the eloquent poet of God, love and joy. In one of his poems, he writes as follows:
“TRIPPING OVER JOY”
What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
And that of a saint?
The saint knows
That the spiritual path Is a sublime chess game with God
And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move
That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, “I Surrender!”
Whereas, my dear, I am afraid you still think
You have a thousand serious moves.
Hafiz wrote as a very tolerant, open-minded Muslim. He words “the Beloved has just made such a Fantastic Move” made me, as Christian believer, think immediately of the birth of Jesus — as the four-year old put it — the birth of God. The discovery of the Fantastic Move leads to the recognition of grace:
That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, “I Surrender!”
It would be wonderful if this Advent we could discover again for the first time, the Fantastic Move made by the Beloved. Then we would be fully alive — not overwhelmed by the necessary busy-ness of life nor by constant distraction or even our thousand serious moves. Then we would, in the words of St Paul, know that “the time has come”, today is the day of salvation. Then we be empowered to use our gifts freely and generously for good — to hammer our swords into ploughs, our spears into pruning hooks.
Conclusion
This is a possibility for us all, but only if we hold ourselves open to the surprise of God, the beloved capable of Fantastic Moves. In very down to earth terms it would mean choosing a specific spiritual path for the next four weeks, so I come to the feast not just tired and out of pocket, but fully tuned-in to what we celebrating. It could mean choosing more time for reflection, meditation and prayer. It could be opening the Scriptures — perhaps especially Isaiah. But most of all, it means being open to the moment of grace! We might even find ourselves tripping over with joy!!!