Dear Jesus-Followers and Jesus-Believers,
This year the calendar matches perfectly. December 1st is the first day of
ADVENT! …And Advent is the first season
of the liturgical year. And the first
word of the first season is …* WAIT *.
…Do not pass “GO” …do not collect $200 …do not put up your Christmas
decorations!
—Oh WAIT …some of us already have!
The city of El Dorado’s public lighting was
November 21st!
Restaurants have been blaring Christmas carols
since before Halloween!
And Hobby Lobby …has Christmas aisles that NEVER
go into hiding!
But before you label me a “Bah humbug-er” …
· Consider
that Advent …is not Christmas. When Christians
began celebrating Advent, it was a time of spiritual preparation for
celebrating the incarnation. Like Lent which
preceded the celebration of Easter. Some
patterns of Advent were 6-9 weeks of “spiritual (and other) preparation.”
· Just
because the secular celebrations of Christmas have shifted from 12 days
following December 25th, to 6-8 weeks BEFORE December 25th,
doesn’t mean we should readjust how we spiritually move through the seasons.
· The
Bible reminds us of what it means to wait in hope for what God is doing. In our world, it’s easy to get caught up in
our certainty about the birth of Jesus, that we busy ourselves with the
preparation for that event, rather than preparing ourselves to discover the ongoing
manifestations of God’s incarnation!
Advent …is not just a counting down of the days until Christmas! It’s not a season in which we “check off” the
things that must be accomplished for our annual celebrations (shopping lists,
meal preparations, and parties). Advent
is a time to notice our world, and align ourselves with the ways of God …that
almost always are a surprise (like opening a gift on Christmas morning)!
If you’ve already put up your Christmas tree and redecorated for the
holidays …you’re not doing it wrong. But
how well are we anticipating God’s surprises when we’re simply about locking
ourselves into the rhythms of every other Christmas? How ready are we to receive the realities of
God’s incarnation if it must follow the familiar pattern? Can we really see what God has in mind for us
and others, insisting that familiarity decides how we should feel?
When the angel appeared to Mary …it was a surprise. When the angel appeared to Joseph …it was a
surprise. When the angels showed up for
the Shepherds …it was a startling surprise.
And while we are fairly certain that the “good news” of Jesus’ birth is “the
reason for the season,” ADVENT invites us to ask some different questions.
We believe that God is still coming …and not like the first time. Do we know what to look for? Or will we miss opportunities to witness it
because we’re engrossed in sales and wrapping paper and getting it all done
early? What about the peace of God which
passes all understanding—are we pursuing that?
What about invitations to share, to be ready, to live into HOPE, to have
worry salved because God is afoot and coming to us—are we pursuing this?
This Advent we will sing familiar songs. We will observe familiar rituals. We will anticipate Christmas, even though it is already happening for some people. We will try to imagine again what it is like to wait and hope, to anticipate but not jump too soon. We will tell the stories once again and invite ourselves to not be so urgent about the ending. We will walk by faith, and not by sight, until the angels say, “All is calm and all is bright.”
