Christmas is Coming!! Advent is HERE!! We are in a time of focusing on the coming celebration of Christ's birth---CHRISTMAS.
This is the first Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Expectation and HOPE. This Sunday marks the beginning of the most exciting time of the year. Today we start the countdown to Christmas. It certainly is one of my favorite times of the year.
There is so much written about the shallowness of our pre-Christmas thoughts, words and deeds. So much emphasis is put on our shopping and baking and presents and parties, and that sure can cause some of us so much chaos and stress. Without an Advent season of reflection, "getting ready for Christmas" is tinsel and shopping. With an Advent of reflection--SELF reflection, we can think about what Jesus is asking for our "getting ready for Christmas" to be like.
One of the things I love about Christmas is our nativity sets. Yes, I said setS. Bruce knows that if I had my way (and we had the room) I would have dozens of nativity sets. I love the symbolism of them. I love the different materials they are made from: some from ceramics, some from wood, some from glass, some from fabric and just about any other material known to man. I also enjoy that some are white, some are brown, some are of many colors. To me, they represent the differences in all of us...but still send us to that baby in the manger, our reason for hope. The untouchable ones are beautiful to look at and are so precious, but my favorites are the ones that are meant for the kids (OK, ME) to play with. I love that they are meant to be touched, to move around and to get to know each of the different characters that are a part of the Christmas story. I'm mostly a kid, so hence why we have more hands-on Nativity Sets then look at only Nativity Sets at our house.
Another of my joys this time of the year is the Advent Wreath. The Advent Wreath is a popular symbol of the beginning of the Church year. It is a circular wreath with 5 candles, four around the wreath and one in the center. Each candle has a meaning in our Advent season. Today we are going to talk about the candle we lit today, the first candle.
The first candle in the Advent wreath is the Hope Candle. It symbolizes our faith that God is keeping his promises to humanity. During this week of Advent, Christians reflect on the love of God and his work throughout human history. At each time during history there have been times of despair.
Hope is the opposite of despair. Despair is the sense that things won't change for the better and nothing that we do will make any difference. Despair is real to anyone living in a fallen world. Certainly there are varying degrees of despair. I'm sure some of the people in Ferguson, MO are feeling despair, as are many people in Africa and other areas of the world. I am also pretty certain there are people right here in good ol Sully County that are feeling despair.
Sometimes, the "Holidays" are not an easy time for people. Maybe they have lost a loved one around this time of the year and the only thing the holidays mean for them is a hard memory of a funeral. Perhaps that family down the street doesn't have enough resources to make it that magical time of the year we hear so much about on TV, and I speak from experience when I say that if you can't provide that very magical experience for your children (much less feed them everyday and give them the clothes that will help them be accepted at school) it can give a person a very big feeling of despair, of failure. Maybe that someone sitting next to you is surrounded by people each and every day but is still feeling alone and in despair.
On a human level there is power in 'positive thinking.' Convincing yourself mentally that things will be better tomorrow may make you feel better today. And, honestly, I do believe we should live with that possibility that with hard work and God's grace the evils, injustices, and disappointments of life may change for the better.
At the same time, positive thinking might be delusional. Some things may never change for the better on this side of eternity. Yet, sometimes if we can just find something to be thankful for, our despair turns into hope.
A faith that is tested and proven is one that is strong in hope. It is difficult to know the reality and genuineness of your faith and commitment to Christ unless it is tested. As you continue to look to Christ in suffering — honoring him and not denying him, you persevere. As you persevere, your character — i.e. your true nature — is proven. Out of the experience of God's grace that sustains you in suffering and causes you to persevere, your hope is made alive.
I want to read you a poem that is based on "Twas the Night Before Christmas". This version was written by Todd Jenkins and is entitled "Twas the Beginning of Advent".
'
Twas the beginning of Advent and all through the Church
Our hope was all dying-- we'd given up on the search.
It wasn't so much that Christ wasn't invited,
But after 2,000 plus years we were no longer excited.
Our hope was all dying-- we'd given up on the search.
It wasn't so much that Christ wasn't invited,
But after 2,000 plus years we were no longer excited.
Oh, we knew what was coming-- no doubt about that.
And that was the trouble-- it was all "old hat."
November brought the first of an unending series of pains
With carefully orchestrated advertising campaigns.
There were gadgets and dolls and all sorts of toys.
Enough to seduce even the most devout girls and boys.
Unfortunately, it seemed, no one was completely exempt
From this seasonal virus that did all of us tempt.
The priests and prophets and certainly the kings
Were all so consumed with the desire for "things!"
It was rare, if at all, that you'd hear of the reason
For the origin of this whole holy-day season.
A baby, it seems, once had been born
In the mid-east somewhere on that first holy-day morn.
But what does that mean for folks like us,
Who've lost ourselves in the hoopla and fuss?
Can we re-learn the art of wondering and waiting,
Of hoping and praying, and anticipating?
Can we let go of all the things and the stuff?
Can we open our hands and our hearts long enough?
Can we open our eyes and open our ears?
Can we find him again after all of these years?
Will this year be different from all the rest?
Will we be able to offer him all of our best?
So many questions, unanswered thus far,
As wise men seeking the home of the star.
Where do we begin-- how do we start
To make for the child a place in our heart?
Perhaps we begin by letting go
Of our limits on hope, and of the stuff that we know.
Let go of the shopping, of the chaos and fuss,
Let go of the searching, let Christmas find us.
We open our hearts, our hands and our eyes,
To see the king coming in our own neighbours' cries.
We look without seeking what we think we've earned,
But rather we're looking for relationships spurned.
With him he brings wholeness and newness of life
For brother and sister, for husband and wife.
The Christ-child comes not by our skill,
But rather he comes by his own Father's will.
We can't make him come with parties and bright trees,
But only by getting down on our knees.
He'll come if we wait amidst our affliction,
Coming in spite of, not by our restriction.
His coming will happen-- of this there's no doubt.
The question is whether we'll be in or out.
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock."
Do you have the courage to peer through the lock?
A basket on your porch, a child in your reach.
A baby to love, to feed and to teach.
He'll grow in wisdom as God's only Son.
How far will we follow this radical one?
He'll lead us to challenge the way that things are.
He'll lead us to follow a single bright star.
But that will come later if we're still around.
The question for now: Is the child to be found?
Can we block out commercials, the hype and the malls?
Can we find solitude in our holy halls?
Can we keep alert, keep hope, stay awake?
Can we receive the child for ours and God's sake?
From on high with the caroling host as he sees us,
He yearns to read on our lips the prayer: Come Lord Jesus!
As Advent begins all these questions make plea.
The only true answer: We will see, we will see.
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