They said it couldn’t be done.
In April of 2019, the world watched in sorrow and disbelief as one of the greatest cathedrals in the world went up in flames. Within hours, Notre-Dame in Paris stood amid ashes. Scorched wood filled the floor. The roof was gone. Altars, statues, shrines were scarred. Some thought that a vital piece of France, an iconic piece of our history and our faith, would be lost for good.
But the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, said, “No.”
He challenged his country and the world to save the cathedral – a church with 900 years of history, faith, art, music, and priceless relics, including Christ’s crown of thorns. We will rebuild, he said. We will do it in five years. Notre-Dame will be more beautiful than ever.
They said it couldn’t be done. People said he was crazy. Many thought it was impossible.
They were wrong.
This weekend, five years and nearly a billion dollars later, Notre-Dame de Paris, Our Lady of Paris, stands before the world as a kind of miracle. The impossible is possible! The result is nothing less than a triumph.
The first images of the completed work were stunning. Brilliant white walls, glorious colors streaming through those stained-glass windows. On “60 Minutes” last Sunday, Bill Whitaker interviewed Philip Jost, the man who oversaw the restoration.
Whitaker asked him, ‘What words come to mind when you first walk into the cathedral?”
Jost answered simply. “The light. The light is breathtaking.” He explained: “In this monument there is a soul.”
This weekend, the soul of Notre-Dame speaks to us. It gives testimony to Advent. It tells us a story of persistence. Of beauty. Of possibility.
Like Advent, it shows what happens when you wait in joyful hope.
It is also a breathtaking tribute to a singular figure of Advent, our Lady. The church, after all, is named for her. It is a love poem to her in stone and glass.
The first Mass in the restored cathedral will be celebrated Sunday, on the day we traditionally remember the Immaculate Conception, a feast that honors an extraordinary beginning: the conception of Mary in her mother’s womb.
And it comes also on this second Sunday of Advent, with scripture readings we just heard that affirm deliverance and that call on us to rise to the challenge of this season.
“Jerusalem,” Baruch cries out, “Take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever.”
The psalm sings of gratitude and the return of the Israelites to their homeland. “The Lord has done great things for us. We are filled with joy.”
And then there is Luke’s gospel, with that timeless cry that we hear every Advent: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” We hear again the words of Isiah, announcing the kind of massive construction work that is even grander and more important than what was done at Notre-Dame. Make straight the paths, fill every valley, lower ever mountain and hill. Prepare to be renewed and changed.
It begins by reshaping the landscape of our hearts. As Pope Francis once put it: “This is a time to recognize the shortcomings in our life, to smooth out the roughness of pride and to make room for Jesus.”
Amid everything else, this is the great message of this Sunday and this season: The Lord is coming!
Are we ready?
We try. We start out with the best intentions. But during these days, life gets in the way. We are making lists and checking check them twice. There are wreaths to hang, cards to send, boxes to wrap, pies to bake. Who makes it a priority to sit, reflect and pray? To wait, to watch, to wonder?
Well, this week, for just two days, let’s make it a priority.
We’ve been announcing it for a few weeks, and it’s finally here: we’re having a mission here in the parish, a kind of mini retreat, Tuesday and Wednesday night at 7 o’clock. Please join me! Take just an hour each night. Let’s take a little time to think more deeply about what this season really means.
Each night will offer stories, reflections, music, prayer, a quiet sense of wonder. I’m also going to offer “Five Habits for a Highly Successful Advent” – simple things we can do to make ourselves ready for Christ and for Christmas.
It’s all focused on that one beautiful element that Philip Jost so loves about the restored cathedral.
Light.
“In this monument,” he said, “there is a soul.”
The same is true for every monument in this church, every person in every pew. You are all monuments, proof of God’s love, made in his image, filled with his light. Advent is a time to rediscover that.
The title of the mission comes from the first words God speaks in all of scripture: “Let there be light.” This week, hear those words anew. Take them to heart.
Look for the light not just on bushes or trees or in store windows. Look for the light of Christ all around you – and within you. Share that light with others. By the grace of our baptism, it’s there. We need to reclaim that.
Let there be light.
So, join us Tuesday and Wednesday. Bring a friend. Bring a family member. Bring someone who hasn’t been to church in a while. Help them see what they’ve been missing.
Bring your prayers for this season and for the year to come. As one of my favorite hymns puts it, let’s “ponder anew what the Almighty can do.” Ashes can be swept away. New stones can be carved. Monuments can be rebuilt.
President Macron told “60 Minutes” that his goal with Notre-Dame was “to make possible the unthinkable.”
That, too, is an Advent idea. It calls to mind the words once spoken to a young girl in a forgotten corner of the world thousands of years ago, the girl for whom that cathedral was named. As an angel told her: “Nothing will be impossible for God.”
I look forward to seeing you all Tuesday and Wednesday night. If you can’t come both nights, try to come for just one.
Make this a time to remember what Advent is about.
To straighten our paths and clear the rough places in our hearts.
A time to prepare the way of the Lord.
A time to believe in miracles.
They said it couldn’t be done. Advent says it can.
Let there be light!
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