Hurry Up and Wait, It’s Advent!
Slow down.
Quiet. It’s Advent! This phrase has been
popularized in devotional materials in recent years as the Church gets ready
for the Nativity of our Lord. Many have
noted the startling contrast between the liturgical season of Advent (the four
weeks before Christmas) and the cultural season that spans the same length of
time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The day
following Thanksgiving, Black Friday, officially kicks off this cultural season
of chaos where we shop, shop, shop and go, go, go until December 25th. Our secular responsibilities during this
season leave little room to slow down and be quiet.
In order to compensate for the
commercialism of this season, the Church spends much of her energy trying to
remind people that Jesus is the reason for the season by hosting special
programs and outreach projects. So not
only are we stretched thin by our secular world responsibilities but also by
our duties as good church people.
While we as a people would do well
to slow down and be quiet, it seems that a more appropriate phrase for the
season should read: Hurry Up and Wait, It’s
Advent! Yes, the season of Advent
is marked by a very specific period of time, but the message of Advent tells us
that the Lord will come in an unexpected place at an unexpected time. Therefore, be ready at any moment.
As Jamie and I await the nativity
of our second child (any day now), every day is treated like it is the last day
before the birth of baby John. Every day
we make sure our bags are packed and the house is cleaned. Every day I make sure my office is in order
before I head home. Every day is a hurry
up and wait kind of day. Every day we
wait in joyful anticipation that today could be the day we meet our new bundle of
joy.
Jesus tells his disciples, “Keep
awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” Whether it be the Second Coming or the
Nativity of our Lord, the point is, of course, that joy, hope, and love are
born into our lives in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times –
be alert so you don’t miss out.
No matter how well we draw up the
script for the Christmas Pageant, no matter how logical my predictions are on
when exactly baby John will be born; joy, hope, and love will manifest itself in
an unpredictable way. The Christmas Pageant
will inevitably go off script but we will grow in the mystery of God’s love for
us. Jamie and I will inevitably forget
to do something before we have baby John but we will grow in the knowledge and
love of God.
The gifts that God desires us to
receive cannot be manufactured by the best of human plans. So this year, hurry up and let go of the
illusion that you will ever be fully prepared.
Hurry up and check off the last item on your list so you don’t miss the
point of Christmas when it hits you square in the eyes. Hurry up and finish your vain attempts to
make this Christmas perfect and wait for the Lord to meet you in the humblest
of places.
Hurry up and wait, It’s Advent!
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