Healing power of observing advent
Christmas and the holiday season stir up many different things in us. We love the nostalgia of holiday’s past. Each year, we begin preparing with menus, gift lists, and lots of calendar engagements. But it took a year of quiet reflection for me to really understand the healing power of observing Advent.
Advent is the beginning of a new year
Advent begins the church calendar for the year. This is something I was surprised by when my dad, a pastor, first told me about it. This is why the scriptures for the first Sunday talk about looking forward and preparing. Celebrating renewal and rebirth, a practice usually delayed until the New Year, can add to the healing power of observing Advent. It is meant to be a time of reflection and beginning anew.
We light this candle as a sign of our hope, our joyous hope that we can be restored – our faith restored, our strength restored, our confidence restored, our joy restored as we watch and wait with all God’s people for the promise to be fulfilled.
Advent Candle Lighting Liturgy 2022, United Methodist Church
Finding peace in the Christmas story
When I was little, I loved to play with nativity sets. My parents collected them from their travels. Each one was an important reflection of the culture of the place which they visited. I grew up seeing Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus depicted by a wide range of colors, cultures and dress. As our sons grew up, we kept this tradition. It’s very easy to see the nativity all set up and jump to that part of the story. But during Advent, we are meant to purposely walk through it step by step…just like the original participants in the Bible.
We light these candles, the candle of joyful hope and the candle of proclaimed peace, in part to remind ourselves that we are a people rising toward God’s promise. But we also light them as a sign to the world, an announcement there are some who hold on to hope and there are some who work the ways of peace. We stand as a sign that Emmanuel is still our fervent prayer.
Advent Candle Lighting Liturgy 2022, United Methodist Church
Once I grew up and had children, the beginning of the Christmas story felt anything but peaceful for Mary and Joseph. She was extremely pregnant and riding on a donkey toward Bethlehem for the census. Anyone who has been very pregnant would not see riding on a donkey for a long distance as peaceful. All kidding aside, Mary’s pregnancy is a manifestation of hope. She and Joseph know the truth, but to the world they travel in she is an unwed mother. The thought of the lack of peace she and Joseph were feeling in their heart must have been acute. But the child she is about to give birth to will be the Prince of Peace.
Slow down to take in each of the steps of Advent
It’s always easy in the midst of the excitement, busyness and fun to lose sight of why the church celebrates Advent. The liturgical calendar can feel like a stuffy artifact from the past. But during the years when I experience the season in a more contemplative spirit, it takes on a more profound and stirring meaning. This is when the healing power of observing Advent becomes most personal to me.
Last year, after losing my dad, I felt a bit lost at Christmas. I was drawn to the things we shared an interest in and spoke about so often. My dad loved the liturgical year and was in the process of following the calendar in his online Bible study begun during the COVID-19 pandemic. As you can tell, my dad was quite the traditionalist and wasn’t too thrilled about the Facebook format at first. He also found all technology quite exasperating, and I would often get a call the morning of his study asking me to help him figure out how to upload his most recent video so it wouldn’t be late.
Once we got it posted and he had time to upload his written study materials, he would often call me back to ask what I thought of the week’s study. In the beginning, it just started as a way to bond with dad. As we began following the readings and the rhythm of the church year, I noticed how comforting it was to have a sense of order when the world felt like it was falling apart. Our conversations drifted often to questions about the state of the world, politics, religion, family and all the big existential questions we usually didn’t have time to discuss. It was such a special thing to share together, and I will cherish those memories always.
Let’s share the message of peace
If ever there were a time we could use some peace, it’s now. This is true, but I often think that every generation and every individual must think this more often or not. Life is inherently difficult. The Bible tells us it will not be our home forever. Following the steps of others before us through the observance of Advent not only helps us to heal personally but sharing it with others is the greatest gift you could give anyone.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
ROMANS 15: 13 (nrsv)
Consider slowly down this year. Unplug for a time each day and just sit quietly. Let the meaning of Advent soak in. Let’s use this traditional observance to find peace and hope for the coming year. Let’s walk through the Christmas story without rushing to the end. And let’s share the healing power of observing Advent.
Next week: Finding joy even during difficult times
