It’s Advent so, what are you waiting for?

Just before I began writing this column I became one of the 219,803 people on Facebook who RSVP’d that they would be attending “Christmas” – an event created by two high schoolers in Lake Oswego (wherever that is) but officially hosted by Jesus and Santa.  In the time it took me to write the previous sentence, the number of RSVPs is up to 220, 074 people. Now it’s 220,122 and counting. It’s just one more reminder – as if we needed any more – that Christmas is right around the corner and the build up to the Big Day is irresistible.  But wait, isn’t it still Advent? In the crush and rush of this time of year, what do we make of the season of Advent? What hope does Advent have of ever commanding any of our time or attention in the face of Christmas lights, shopping sprees, and travel plans? (220, 332)

Our Church schedule-makers had the foresight to build 4 weeks of prep time into the calendar ahead of the Big Day. Admirable move, for sure. Advent is a time of anticipation for Act I of the Great Christian Story: the Birth of Jesus.  Anticipation takes some slowing down, some waiting.  But who likes to wait? We live in a culture of “go”, not “wait”. If you’re waiting, you might as well be doing nothing.   (221,197)

When I was younger I never had much patience for the steps it took to get somewhere I knew I wanted to be. I’m not just talking about physical “somewheres”. My hoped-for destination was often an emotional, spiritual or intellectual place.  In all cases, once I knew where I wanted to be, I just began acting like I was there (admittedly, much more difficult to do with actual physical destinations).  It was a very efficient process, if I say so myself, but hardly one that bred long-term satisfaction. Skipping the necessary emotional steps or bypassing the spiritual hoops I should have jumped through, got me to where I wanted to be but left me without the emotional or spiritual tools to fully take in the view from my new vantage point.  Those tools come only from the lessons I would have learned on the way.  (222,593)

In all of the gift-buying and light-hanging of this season, we run the risk of jumping ahead too quickly to the celebration of Christmas.  The anticipatory season of Advent,
much like Lent, helps us carve out the time we need to look forward to the Lord’s coming at Christmas.   In the Gospel today, we encounter John the Baptist calling us to a preparation that includes examining our hearts ahead of meeting the Messiah. Perhaps we can turn the busy activity associated with Christmas into a meditation on what’s to come on December 25th, so that the frenzy of gift-gathering becomes a chance to reflect on the gift we receive in the Incarnation; the hanging of lights on the house is a reflection on the Light of Christ entering the world; or the trimming of the evergreen Christmas tree points us to the Eternal Life God makes human in Jesus Christ.  (229,038 – I took a long lunch).