Naomi's Notes - 11/25/07
Advent is right around the corner. I'm not sure I'm ready for it. I don't mean ready to decorate or bake or start my Christmas shopping. I don't mean ready for our Hanging of the Green service or our In Search of Christmas musical drama program. I'm not sure my heart is ready for Advent.
Advent comes from "adventus," a Latin word meaning "coming." It first appeared in the Roman Church around the 4th century as a four to six week preparation before the Christ Mass, or Christmas. Originally it was a "period of fasting and prayer, much like Lent. Through the following centuries, however, Advent lost many of its strict disciplines and became a period of celebratory anticipation." (John Hendrix, et al, Celebrate Advent)
Robert Longman, Jr. (SpiritHome.com ) says that "Advent has fallen on hard times. For most people, it's become a time to get ready for whatever you're doing with family and friends on Christmas, and not a time to get ready for the Christ Child. The bigger Christmas [becomes], the more it [swallows] up Advent... In the U.S., everything after Thanksgiving is now seen as a part of Christmas...[Advent and Christmas have become] a tiring rush, not a loving celebration,...By the time it's over, we need a vacation from the holiday!"
The idea behind both Lent and Advent is that the deeper we go spiritually, the greater our joy; the hungrier we are for Christ, the more satisfying is God's spiritual feast. We miss a lot if, during Lent, we only celebrate Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday, skipping Good Friday. And we miss a lot if we have only a month-long Christmas celebration, skipping Advent.
So, I'm wondering if I will have the discipline to ponder daily - not just on Advent Sundays--Jesus' coming to earth to redeem my life. I'm wondering if I will find the courage during Advent to allow God to dig so deeply into my soul that by the time Christmas day arrives, I will understand my own neediness and be so grateful for God's Gift that I will celebrate like never before.
My heart's desire is to feel something like George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life - so wild with excitement about Jesus' birth that I cannot contain my joy. I already know how to get there; I already know the path to finding the "real" Christmas. I just have to make the choice.
What about you? Are you ready for Advent?
See you in worship this Sunday -
Naomi