ADVENT

I will listen … for (God) is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him. Psalm 85

I surrender!

Christmas is here. Not the 25th, obviously, but the season.

We had a pleasant weekend following Thanksgiving, so I took the opportunity to hang the outdoor decorations – lights, garland, and wreath – and make the house indoors and out as festive as possible. Living in the Seattle area, one must strike while the iron is hot or, in this case, when the weather is dry.

This is a big change for me, because I hail from a church tradition that identifies the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas as “Advent” (not “Christmas”).

Advent is a season of watching, waiting, and preparing for the promised birth of the savior. It is only four short weeks – one month – which isn’t long time-wise when you consider the nine months Mary was actually pregnant, or the thirteen centuries between God’s promise to Abraham and the delivery in Bethlehem. But …

… waiting is too much for many of us. Many hustled and bustled on the Black Friday weekend, enduring crowds, thugs, and consumers armed with pepper-spray. Many more hit the internet on Cyber Monday, with frenzied fingers flying to seize upon every deal one could find. It’s all madness, you know.

I sit here in my living room, laptop comfortably resting on my lap, and I gaze upon the nativity set sitting upon the fireplace mantle.



The Magi are posed (although they aren’t due until January 6th if we follow the script); the donkey and camel have seemingly stopped for the night, seeking rest and perhaps a bit of hay; the shepherd stands guard over his flock, restless and alert in the eerie silence of the moment; and Mary and Joseph watch over an empty manger, awaiting the fullness of time when the Babe will finally make his appearance.

I find serenity for my soul as I look upon the nativity sitting neatly on the mantle. There is no madness; there is no chaos; there is no rush to find the latest and greatest, nor is there a need to find the perfect gift. Instead, there is peace and tranquility.

It helps that those figures are statues which, by nature, don’t do a lot anyway, but it’s a setting I need to help maintain some semblance of sanity in a world gone wild.

The world screams “Christmas is coming” at the top of its lungs; minstrels are reporting that grandma has gotten run over by reindeer; Frank, Bing, and Perry are doing their crooning best to get us all misty-eyed for the season; and the Biebs has got all the tweeners in North America craving for a piece of whatever he has to give. Is there any word other than “insanity” we can use for the season? I think not.

It has almost gotten me beaten down to a sadder lump of clay than one normally finds me to be; I am weary of this plastic cheery; and the nog has got me in a bog. What am I to do?

“The Lord is speaking Peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him.”

The watchword is “Peace.” Peace, as one knows, isn’t the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.

God did not bring Jesus into the world to dispense chocolates, distribute i-Shackles, or improve the bottom line for the world’s retailers.

No, he came into the world to heal the broken, to restore the shattered, and to put an end to deeds of darkness.

I like to think of Advent as a Time Out called by God so we can pause and get our act together. It is a time to ask: What would our lives look like if we – like the shepherd – kept watch over those we love - faithfully? Or if we – like the magi – were to simply make our way to worship the One who’s only desire is to dwell in our hearts forever?

The trimmings and trappings of Christmas are up at our house, but what I yearn for is to be at peace with the season and with my God. What do YOU yearn for this week?

May we all turn to God, and be at Peace in this, our world!