Advent
Dear friends in Christ:
"In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God."
Isaiah 40:3
I love Christmas, don't get me wrong, but I also love Advent. I like waiting with excitement for Christmas day to come. I think, however, that I am in the minority. Stores begin putting up Christmas decorations before Halloween is over and Thanksgiving becomes nothing more than a day gearing up to shop. Businesses hope to capitalize on our "busy-ness." I am afraid that Advent has become a liturgical season that has lost its luster. It seems Advent has become a countdown for the number of shopping days left rather than days left until the coming of the Christ child. I fear that the Advent wreath and purple banners have become just mere decorations. Lillian Daniel, a UCC pastor and writer of devotions, puts it this way:
"Like the house hunter who noticed the train tracks on moving day, but later sleeps through the whistles and the engines that rush by, we can miss the thing in the season of Advent that might have been the most obvious and important at one time -- the coming of Christ."
During the season of Advent, we are reminded to stay awake because we never know when Christ will come (or come again). We may be awake physically but asleep spiritually. I don't want that to happen to me or you.
I admit that it is just as easy for me to get caught up in the secularism of the holiday (holy day is more accurate) that I can miss the deep spiritual blessing of Advent. Being aware of and awake to the presence of God in the world can be restful and peaceful even as we are busy on our shopping trips.
It may seem odd that we begin the church year with looking toward the end times and Christ coming again since we haven't even witnessed his birth yet, but we have something in common with those who awaited Jesus birth. They did not know when the Messiah would be born and so they waited with watchfulness and anticipation. We do not know when the Messiah will appear again, but we too wait with that same watchfulness and anticipation of a new day. We are as hopeful as they were.
Advent eventually leads us liturgically to the birth of the baby Jesus in the manger. We will celebrate the coming of Christ into the world. We know when Christmas will arrive and what it will be like. We never know when Christ will come again, so we must be awake and anticipate that day.
I wish each of you an Advent filled with exciting anticipation and a very merry and blessed Christmas. Let us all "remember the reason for the season."
With Christ's love,
Rev. Steve
What do you think?