Advent 2010

The Christian world (or at least the American part of it) is racing toward Christmas.  Funny, it's been running , at least here, since before Halloween. For me, that's rushing things a bit but I guess with the economic climate the way it is, merchants want to get as early a start as they can on the annual avalanche of customers seeking the best deals on presents they give to loved ones, friends and even some people they really don't know or can't stand but feel they have to in order to show charity or perhaps collegiality.

Advent gets lost in the shuffle. Advent? What's that?  Most Christians probably don't have a clue as their churches and denominations don't "do" Advent. Radio stations certainly don't; they play Christmas carols in increasing frequency as Christmas Eve approaches. There may be one every hour or so on December 1 but by December 23 there's almost nothing else played. Funny -- I don't remember hearing much Hanukkah music even though that holiday lasts 8 days! Advent hymns and carols? They don't have a chance.

The world needs Advent. Advent is a time of waiting, of inward-looking and quiet observation. It is a period of expectation, much as a pregnant woman looks inward to the child she carries and feels the stretches and kicks of the life within her that herald its presence and coming birth.  Advent doesn't rush around, trying to put up more lights on the house than the Joneses next door or buy a bigger, better present or even host and attend the most interesting parties.  Advent sits quietly as if in the hour before dawn when the world begins to wake from sleep. Advent doesn't come with a roar like an oncoming freight train but more like the first bird songs at dawn or the rustle of quiet movement as one arises from bed and stretches the muscles before getting on with the duties of the day. 

Advent is a time of pregnant pause --- a deliberate break in speech and action to give time for contemplation of what had been said or done and to allow a buildup of expectation of something significant to follow. Christmas is certainly a significant celebration in Christianity, even if the date is most certainly not the actual birthday of Jesus, because without a birth there wouldn't have been a death and resurrection. Still, Advent calls us to pause and reflect, to hear the message of the prophets, not just about the birth but about the meaning of it and what its significance is. It's about what is expected of us beyond giving expensive presents, lavishly decorating, and feeling some sort of burst of good will toward people we don't notice, think of or even think kindly about the rest of the year.

Tomorrow's collect begins "Stir up, O Lord,"  a rousing to action and movement.  One can't sit and contemplate forever, even during a season that is built on and encourages it. Pregnant pauses come to an end and the time for activity arrives just as Christmas Eve arrives and the churches fairly explode with light, color, pageantry, bells, smells and exuberance at the celebration of the birth of our Lord. That's not a bad thing, in fact, it's probably one of the biggest draws the church can have, looking at the faces of folks one doesn't see in church but once or twice a year. 

Still, we mustn't rush to Christmas without extracting all the meaning and purpose of Advent. The pregnant pause is there for a reason.

Enjoy it, celebrate it, contemplate it, savor it, but don't rush past it or the full magnitude of the significant event to follow may be lost.