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Advent
and the Fat Lady
December
4-5, 2004
Fr.
George Smiga
Matthew
3:1-12
“It's
not over until the fat lady sings.” As unlikely as it may
seem, this saying directly relates to the season of Advent,
and to a spiritual attitude in which we should try to live
each day of our lives. “It's not over until the fat lady sings.”
This saying is often attributed incorrectly to Yogi Berra,
the manager for many years of the New York Yankees. He probably
gets credit because another of his sayings is close to it:
“It's not over until it's over.”
Both
of these sayings point to a truth: you are not going to know
who wins the ball game until the last out is made. But the
saying about the fat lady does not originate in baseball.
The full saying reveals its origin: “the opera is not over
until the fat lady sings”. It reflects the common practice
in classical opera that no matter what kind of twists or turns
there are in the plot, the last scene is reserved to the soprano—usually
a hefty woman of some presence who closes the opera with a
dramatic aria. Therefore, what the saying tells us is that
no matter how the story seems to be going, wait! There is
still time. The opera is not over until the fat lady sings.
Now
what does this have to do with Advent? Actually, quite a bit,
because Advent is about waiting. This is what the readings
today tells us. We are waiting for the Kingdom of God. A kingdom
which Isaiah describes in today's first reading as a kingdom
on God's holy mountain. A kingdom which is announced by a
messiah which John the Baptist proclaims in the desert in
the wilderness.
Advent
is about waiting, and so is life. Jesus has revealed to us
a God who saves us, a God who will not abandon us, a God that
has promised us life. But the promises of God are not accomplished
in a day. Thus the stance for every believer each day of life,
is to wait. To wait for God to act, to wait for God to fulfill
God's promises.
This
is why it is such a mistake, such a tragedy, when we conclude
that things are finished, when we decide that we have come
to the end of the line, when we decide that there is nothing
more to wait for. Because if we conclude that things are ended
before God has finished, then we rob ourselves of hope, and
we rob ourselves of life.
Now
when can we choose such false conclusions? It usually happens
in the midst of heartache or disappointment. When we learn
that a son or daughter is addicted to drugs, when we are told
we cannot conceive a child, when we find that we have to face
divorce or the rejection of someone we love, when we have
to mourn someone that we have lost in death, when we lose
our job, when the diagnosis comes to us that it is cancer—in
these moments of crisis, we are tempted to call the game,
to throw in the towel, to conclude that things are over.
But
the Christian is called not to give up but to wait, because
only God can say when the story is finished.
This
attitude of waiting is really the fundamental stance of the
believer. It applies not only to the crises of our lives,
but also the every day disappointments. When someone forgets
our birthday, when our back begins to ache, when our children
cannot come home for Christmas, it is easy to conclude that
we should just write it off life as a loss and give in to
sadness. But the gospel then calls us instead to wait, to
see what God will do next. Because as long as there is another
scene, anything can happen. As long as God still has room
to act, there is hope.
So
the next time you have to face a major crisis, or a small
disappointment, don't throw in the towel. Don't give up. Wait!
Watch what will happen next. We believe that God is still
at work, so give God time to act. Don't presume to conclude
that your life is a tragedy. God has promised you a happy
ending. It is not over until the fat lady sings, and God is
the only one who can tell her when to take the stage. Until
that final curtain falls, any good thing can still happen.
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