Advent

I enjoy Christmas.  I LOVE  Advent.  The word directs a 180 degree turn from commercialism. Its option was not even offered to me until the 1970’s when our church first did an Advent book.  I grew up in a small Baptist church.  December was carols in the church, a program at school, a tree in the living room, a bought gift and a Santa surprise. The word was not capitalized. Advent was the noun that designated a change as in Upon the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the need for a laboring class was restructured.

The words that go with it are so foundational and individual.  As a part of the church year, the time was not designated liturgically until 380 A.D.  (I am not a C.E fan) Candles are the symbols of coming light. Throw a dart at the board and select four from these offerings and make a theme for the four weeks before December 25:  Hope, Peace, Faith, Joy, Prophets, Shepherds, Magi, and tack on Love as a ultimate comment.  To really ice the cake, add a thick white candle Christmas Eve to affirm what the waiting of Advent is all about,

I am most drawn to Advent because it is what I make of it. No holiday patrol checks what I’ve cooked or how I’ve decorated. When the possibility of focused celebration was offered options poured in: a plethora of wreaths, scented candles, windows to open to help children count days, and, of course, a book to guide one’s thoughts, and then another book for the next year.  I come out with a cup of tea, a LED candle, maybe music and a small nativity, and the gospels.  The stories are old and treasured, yet a new thought is sometimes revealed.  When Gabriel tells Zachariah that his prayer is heard, he doesn’t even say.”Which one?” I could have gone through a numbered list.

In your way, walk though this beginning of a new happening.  Focus on what was and what will be changed, and how you can be a part of it.  This time is the culmination of thousands of years of waiting that we have distilled into four weeks. Be alert.  Don’t miss the import of the moment when it arrives.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son.  Galatians 4:4