Advent: Hope

I remember being a child and waiting, waiting, waiting for Christmas Day to arrive. I tried really hard to wait patiently. Along the way, Mom got a bunch of those small-sized candy canes and we put them on the tree -- just enough for each of us to have one candy cane from the tree each day until Christmas. That candy cane tradition was a lesson in hope, in finding joy each day of the waiting while still focused with anticipation of what was yet to come.

Advent is a time of remembering, experiencing, and cultivating hope. We remember the many years of waiting for the promised Messiah, and God's faithful fulfillment of His promises. We experience the hope of knowing God in the here and now while also anticipating Christ's eventual return. And as we cultivate hope as we respond to God's promises and character.

Hope is a transformative thing, and I am excited to see what God does as we wait with expectation.

Bringing Gifts

When I was a child, we used to cut the annual gift catalogs into strips and make colorful paper-chain garland out of them.  Such mess-making destruction was normally frowned upon, so it felt like a fabulously fun privilege, and a little artsy, too.  Looking back now, I like the symbolism of creating nearly-free tree decorations while destroying catalogs intended to entice us toward spending money.

When I was a child, I learned the story of Christmas.  We heard about Mary and Joseph, the innkeeper, the shepherds, and various other characters.  (Of the various parts I played in the various Christmas plays, my favorite was the camel.  I don't remember whether it was a talking camel, but it was definitely a singing one.)

Among the characters of Christmas were the Magi, a.k.a. Wise Men.  Christmas plays usually showed three of them, each carrying a gift to Jesus -- gold, incense, and myrrh.  When I was a child, I didn't understand this.  I thought about the toys in the Christmas catalogs, and the "wise men" didn't seem too smart to me.  After all, who gives perfume and embalming materials to an infant?

As an adult, though, I have learned some of the symbolism and value of those gifts, and realize they were far more significant than a fun plastic toy.  In addition to their practical value for a struggling family, they were appropriate gifts for the King and foreshadowed the sacrificial death of Jesus.

As we were talking about getting ready for Christmas, a friend of mine described wanting to offer a gift to Jesus, like the Wise Men did.  It brought up the question: What would be an appropriate and desirable gift for the King?  This friend of mine talked personally about a shift in attitude that would be a very good gift for Christ this year.  When I was a child, I may have suggested a gift that was flashier, more fun, because "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child..." (I Corinthians 13:11)

When I was a child, I did not recognize the value of the gifts brought by the Magi many years ago, or by my friend more recently.  As as adult, though, as I approach God in this Advent season, I want to give the gift of genuine love described in I Corinthians 13:  "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails..."

Love for his people -- all people -- is a great gift for our King.

What's Your Hurry?

My dad is generally unruffled.  He is deliberative and wise.  He considers situations with appropriate care and chooses how to respond.  He's the calm one in stressful situations.

Most of the time, anyway.

Apparently when my brother broke his leg and started yelling, my dad moved faster than any of us kids had ever seen.  There was something wrong with his son, and he was going to get there.  We are a priority to him, and when he heard Don's voice, he knew something was wrong, which created a sense of urgency.  He hurried.

Pastor Joel preached today on the "Grunts" in the Advent story: the shepherds.  Context is important, of course, so here is a really quick description of where we're at in the story...

Veronica lighting
the Advent candles

Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem for the census, and Mary gave birth to Jesus while there.  Shepherds in nearby fields were working as usual when an angel appeared and told them, "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger."  Then, suddenly, there were many angels present and praising God.  When the angels left, the shepherds decided together to go to Bethlehem and check out for themselves what the angels had said.

"So they hurried off..." (Luke 2:16)

The shepherds had received some really good news, and Pastor Joel talked (audio available -- listen or download) about what they did with that news.  For me, in this season, one thing Joel said today particularly caught my attention:  The shepherds were urgent about what was important.

This time of year brings many things that feel urgent.  There are trees to put up, homes to decorate, parties to attend, cards to send, gifts to prepare, plans to finalize, and so forth.  Not to mention the usual (and unusual) responsibilities at home and work.  Not all of them are equally important, though.

I can be flexible on most of my to-do list, really, as long as I stay focused on what is most important.  The big two non-negotiables?  God and the people in my life.

There isn't much reason to hurry, really.  God has given me all the time I need to accomplish all that He has for me.  And that is enough.

Advent-ure

Pastor Bob

Bob Luhn commented recently that "Advent" is the first part of "adventure," which so beautifully describes this season.  A bit skeptical, I looked it up in an online dictionary to see if there really is a linguistic connection, or if it's more of a coincidence.  I like what I found there.

As it turns out, both words do originate from forms of the Latin advenire and its French relatives.  Adventure speaks of "what must happen," and its meaning has shifted some over the years to suggest risk/danger and "a novel or exciting incident."  This whole progression makes sense to me.  The future is always unknown, which carries with it a sense of risk.  We respond to risk quite naturally with a measure of excitement.

And Advent?  Advent is about the coming of Jesus.  God had been saying for years that the Messiah would come.  It was risky in many ways, but it was how He would save us from ourselves.  During this season of Advent, we wait with intention and faith, imaginatively pondering what it was like for God's people to wait those many years without knowing when the Messiah would come, or really even how he would appear.

There is something else here, too.  Though Christ did come two thousand years ago, Advent reminds us that we still wait for his return.  As God's people waited and did not know the details of Jesus' coming ahead of time, so too we wait with longing and hopeful expectancy for his Second Coming.

Advent is a time of adventure, waiting for what must happen, recognizing risk involved, and sensing the excitement of what will be.  Like any good adventure, I want to be sure I am fully alert and ready as the future comes.

-- Debi

One Candle, for Now

It doesn't happen very often, but I occasionally have the urge to assemble a jigsaw puzzle.  I like bringing order to a Big Box o' Disordered Pieces, and find that the process sometimes helps bring order to disordered thoughts, too.  Puzzles often come together in sections -- the sky, perhaps, or an animal, or a section of red flowers.  Finishing sections builds anticipation of the moment when the last piece is put in place.

We had a Hanging of the Greens service at church this evening.  The process of decorating was mixed with explanations of symbolism and songs related to meanings.  The part that most caught my attention on this particular day was about the Advent wreath:

"Something is happening, and something more is still to come."

This morning, Parker lit the first of five candles in the Advent wreath because today is the first Sunday of Advent.  That one burning candle represents light of God coming into our world.  It is a reminder that, in the midst of what often seems so ordinary, God is at work.  He always has been.  Though we may not always see it, something is happening.

As the one candle burned brightly, the other four remained dark and cool.  Those are a reminder of what is yet to be.  We don't usually know quite what it will look like or how it will unfold, but we can be confident that God is already in it, that He is faithful to bring about good.  Whatever the future holds, we know that something more is still to come.

The season of Advent is not just the Pre-Christmas Season.  It is its own time, traditionally marked by a sense of longing expectancy, of not yet experiencing fulfillment of promise but waiting for it with faith and hope.  I choose in this time to celebrate what I see already happening, and to wait patiently for what is still to come.

-- Debi