Preparing for Advent
Advent is coming up and this time of year always reminds me of T.S. Eliot's poem "Little Gidding" in The Four Quartets, "We shall not cease from exploration/ And the end of all our exploring/ Will be to arrive where we started/ And know the place for the first time." The season of Advent is very much like this idea. It is the first season of the Christian year, leading up to Christmas. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means "coming." It is the time of year that we prepare to celebrate, once again, the birth of Christ. However, within this season, there are multiple references. The first Advent of Christ is squarely in view; yet, Christ comes to us continually in Word and Sacrament, and we continue to await his glorious return. In Advent, these are all joined together. While we chronologically find ourselves waiting for Christ's return, this season harkens us back to his first coming.
We begin waiting with the Blessed Virgin Mary as time approaches to the birth of Jesus. In many ways, it is our beginning. At your baptism, the work of Christ was proclaimed and promises were made to you, namely, the promise of Christ dwelling in you. And then, like the Virgin Mary's "Let it be," we too grasp onto these promises. But our clinging to Christ, our "Let it be," does not stop there but continues as he comes to us again and again each week. Our reliance upon Christ coming to us is because we live in a time of the "already but not yet." Christ has conquered sin and death, recreating all things, and his Kingdom has come; however, while truly accomplished, these are still being actualized. We feel our dependence upon him to complete the work he has begun in us and the world around us. And so, we await his coming again in glory.
We now find ourselves day in and day out waiting upon the Lord. And it is in our waiting that we find the meaning of Advent. Yes, we anticipate the coming of the Christ-child, but we also long for his glorious return. And it is perhaps in this posture of waiting for His Second Coming that we can best understand his first coming. We will begin to see that creation, recreation, and redemption are all tied together in the person of Jesus Christ. We can long with creation for the redemption of all things, learn to "wait upon the Lord" with the people of the Old Testament, and we can sit with the Blessed Virgin as she carries the God-Man in her womb, waiting for the promised one.
No one ever said waiting is easy. While we wait, we are to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. This is why it is a penitential season. Not that you are supposed to beat yourself up and be depressed. It has historically been a time in the church when you would focus on repentance and caring for others. It is a time we sit before Christ and prepare our hearts to receive him. But this sober-mindedness is joined to the joy and hope of Christ's coming. So, while we prepare, we remember for what and whom we are preparing.
During this season, I might suggest that it is unwise, if even possible, to prepare and wait in haste. While the world swirls and rushes around you with Christmas decorations, music, and gifts, the Church year invites you to slow down. Prepare yourself by decorating slowly, find meaning in each day of the season, and take it a week or even a day at a time. We can't jump forward to Christ's return, so don't jump to Christmas. We might as well practice what it means to wait well.
There are plenty of ideas to help you to practice mindfulness of the season. During the four weeks of Advent, we look at the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Take a theme and meditate on it each week. Grab an advent devotional and go through each entry (I suggest, Love Came Down: Anglican Readings for Advent and Christmas). Light candles to track your journey towards Christmas and the Light of Christ coming into the world. Listen to Advent hymns rather than Christmas carols. If you must put up your tree prematurely, rather than putting your Christmas tree with all its decorations, begin with just simple lights. Have it as a Chrismon tree where you hang white monograms of Christ. Or, perhaps, have a Jesse tree where you place ornaments with the signs of the ancestors of Christ on the tree for the season of Advent.
These, of course, are all ideas that you may implement if you wish. Perhaps, there are other ideas you know of or that your family has traditionally done. Whatever you do, do it with a mindfulness of the Advent season and join in the rich tradition of the Church, it has many things to teach us.
Grace and Peace,
Fr. Aaron