Longing for Advent

Originally an Article for the December 2011 Mira Vista UCC Newsletter.

Advent is a special time of year for me. It is this time of year that we take time to wait, listen and discover once again what Christmas can mean. It is time where the songs we sing and scriptures we read often express a longing for God. Whether it is singing “Oh Come, Oh Come Emanuel” or hearing the words of Isaiah saying to “prepare the way” we are invited to join in that longing.

Humans define God, tie God down, limit God to a few ways of showing up on our planet. Still, after millenia of recorded thought, God remains elusive for earth people. The authors of our scriptures speak beautifully about our human despair as we search for a God we can really know. If God is still speaking, what's God saying? Who or what is Divine? Even as we actively search for God, God often remains elusive. As if the divine is only just outside our reach.

As I have journeyed from time to time I have experienced moments when God seems to break through that elusiveness. It is a fleeting moment but it is a powerful experience. For me it is often in quiet contemplative moments. One moment I’m singing a Taize’ Chant and the next I feel as if the divine is within reach. As if I can feel that I am a part of something much bigger than myself. It is both a comforting and daunting experience. In those moments I feel as if I’m wrapped in the love of God, but I also feel the great responsibility it means to be connected to the entire universe through the divine. For that moment I feel I am truly present to the possibilities the world has to offer. Just as quickly as those moments come they are gone and I’m left longing for more.

While I feel I have gained insight these moments, I am always struck by the fact that the more I experience of the divine, the more I am aware just how little I truly know about God. It makes me long for those moments of connection, long to experience more of the divine. It is like an ache, an ache for a world where that divine love permeates all experience. A dream of a world not as it is, but rather as I hope that it can slowly become.

So at advent time I feel connected with Isaiah’s hope proclaiming comfort to the Israelite exiles. I experience hope as John the Baptist as he points forward to something new that's coming, even as he doesn’t know exactly what that will be. I take comfort in the courage of Mary and Joseph in their willingness to listen to their visions and dreams, in hopes that by doing so the world might be a better place. I long to hear the angels say “Do not be afraid” proclaiming that hope has once again entered the world.

Rethinking Advent

I may be more excited about advent this year than I have been in a long time. I like many have come to dread advent because it meant having ten thousand things to do and ten thousand obligations. I'm committed to doing advent differently this year and I'm very excited about the possibilities that that will represent.

I've been inspired by a number of groups both spiritual and secular who all make good critics of the way the holiday season is done by many. It has been a good spiritual practice for me to reflect on how I have been celebrating or missing celebrating this upcoming season.

My plan is this; first be intentional about my spirituality during advent. I plan to explore what the season has to offer to my soul in as many ways as I can, to hopefully regain that sense of wonder about the season. Second I plan to be more open to those around me during the season, sharing my time and enjoying doing so rather than seeing all the extra things that take place during advent as obligations I'm going to focus on the joy of being around the people I love during the season. Third I'm going to do my best to be socially responsible in my gift giving. I plan on making the gifts I give unique, socially responsible and from the heart. Hopefully this will help make me feel more connected with those I am getting the gifts for, and I hope they will feel the care that will go into these gifts. Fourth, I plan to be intentional about carrying this reflection and the incites gained beyond the holiday season and into the dawning of a New Year.

So as I said I'm excited. In some ways I feel like a child again looking forward to the season, only this time it is not because of the physical gifts that the season has to offer, but rather because of ways the season can make me a better gift giver and receiver. The gift I hope for most this year is a Advent and Christmas season full of wonder, fellowship, love and new discovery.