This Advent season, I've been reflecting a lot on hope. Now, more than ever, it seems we all could use some _ specifically, the kind that Christmas brings.
The first candle of Advent reminds my fellow Christians of the hope of salvation through Christ's life, death and resurrection as well as the hope of a future world when Christ returns to reign. This new world will be one without the pain and suffering we know now _ a world in which all things are renewed and the harmony that all living beings once experienced in the Garden of Eden is restored. Isaiah 11:6�9 paints a beautiful picture of this day:
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
together their young shall lie down;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the viper's den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.
They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea. (New American Bible Revised Edition)
As someone whose job involves documenting, exposing and working to end the abuse inflicted on animals in laboratories, pet-trade warehouses, factory farms and other cruel situations, I cling to this promise.
When I'm tempted to despair over the suffering I see every day _ such as gentle sheep being beaten by shearers or terrified cats being screamed at and slammed into cages by laboratory workers _ I remind myself that every day brings us closer to Christ's glorious return, and the time when God "will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, (for) the old order has passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
But what should we do in the meantime? As Christians eagerly anticipate Jesus' second Advent, it only makes sense that we should live as citizens of His kingdom now. That's why we heal the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the poor and do other good works in Jesus' name.
And what about the other part of that Advent promise _ the hope of a future world without killing of any kind, where all beings live at peace? Is there a way we can live out that vision "on earth as it is in Heaven" right now?
I believe there is. Consider, for instance, the opportunity laid before us three times a day to show mercy to our fellow creatures. We read in Genesis that eating plants instead of animals isn't a secular or new idea _ it was God's original plan: "God also said: See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food" (Genesis 1:29).
Animals give glory to God "(b)y their mere existence," according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2416). But how can they glorify God when humans deprive them of all He created them to do and be?
Mother hens on egg farms never get the opportunity to tend and cluck lovingly to their eggs, or even spread their wings, because they're crammed into wire cages with up to 10 others. Fish can't swim the vast and wide sea that God created for them but instead are confined to crowded and waste-filled tanks until they're large enough to be eaten. Calves are torn away from their mothers and locked inside dark stalls so that humans can take the milk that God intended for them and dine on their "fancy," tender flesh.
That's a bleak picture, but Christ's Advent offers hope for all of creation. Choosing vegan foods instead of those that cause other beings to suffer is a beautiful way to live out this hope.
Trappist Father Charles Cummings writes in his Monastic Practices that we are responsible for shaping the unfolding creation and that our work as human beings can help restore the universe. As believers, we have not only a glorious future to look forward to but also the opportunity to partner with Christ in restoring the Earth and making it a place that reflects God's goodness and mercy right now.
