Advent Greetings Dear People of Bethlehem,
Advent always seems to sneak up on me. I feel like I’ve barely turned my attention from Halloween to Thanksgiving and then suddenly it’s time to get ready for Christmas! But I love that we are so intentional about getting ready for such an important day in the life of both the church and, really, the whole world. Advent was initially meant to be like a mini-Lent. Lent is a season of somber reflection, repentance, and fasting to get ready for the joy and exuberance of Easter, and so Advent was meant to function in a similar way. A time for intentional waiting, watching, and listening to the words of John the Baptist who proclaims, “Prepare the way of the Lord!”
It’s interesting to juxtapose the ideas of “waiting,” which feels very stagnant and inactive, with the notion of “preparation,” which by nature feels full of activity and movement. To try to do both will inevitably result in feeling somewhat torn between two, pulled in two opposite directions. When that happens, we enter what is called “liminal space” – the space between spaces; halfway between what was, and what is yet to come. And while that sensation can be strange and uncomfortable at first, the more we lean into that discomfort, the more we find that it is a place that is filled with great creative potential – fertile ground that is just waiting for new life to blossom forth.
Additionally, we may need to rethink our traditional understanding of what it means to “wait.” Waiting does not have to be a time of inactivity. There is such a thing as active waiting, a form of waiting that incorporates preparation for the new thing that we are anticipating and hoping for. And that is the kind of waiting that we are called to during the season of Advent. We are called to clear out the clutter in our hearts and minds and make room for the coming of Jesus into our world. We are invited to hear John’s words calling us to repentance and affirmation of our faith, in anticipation of the coming of the one who will make all things new.
We talk often about Lenten disciplines, and I’d like to suggest that our Advent disciplines this year be to consider what it means to both wait and prepare simultaneously. You just might find that the tension between the two bears some unexpected fruit.
Blessings, Pastor Sam