St. Bartholomew's Church

In my first ministry I worked with a rector who took Advent very seriously. Part of my responsibility was to plant a new church in a growing part of the city, and as an evangelistic method, a group of community members decided to invite residents to our Christmas services and used familiar Christmas carols as the “hook”. When the rector found out, I was hauled up on the carpet and given my first lesson (read: lecture) in serious liturgical theology.

I loved Fr Bill and probably learned more from him about real ministry than from anyone else, but there was no ‘flex’ room in his life when it came to the boundaries of each of the seasons of the church year.

Advent was a season of preparation and Christmas was for celebration: end of sentence!

The truth is though, our culture begins to use the Christmas message as an advertising gimmick from the first of November. Christmas becomes a genuine ‘moveable’ feast. The dates move to assist the goal of sales.

I find myself attempting to walk an almost impossible line between understanding the need to make a season of authentic preparation particularly for full spiritual benefit, and recognizing that our society just can’t seem to wait as it needs the excuse to celebrate by gathering with family and friends and experience the joy of this time of the year. Better a mid-winter festival that has some Christian influence than one that won’t give Jesus the time of day.

But how do we make Advent meaningful when by the 25th of December most all of the office parties and school concerts will be over? How do we maintain some spiritual focus when there are more demands on our time during this time of the year than any of the others?

Discipline and focus are difficult at the best of times, and we may find it particularly tough this time of year. But for followers of Jesus to gain the most of this time, and frankly, to maintain some resemblance of peace (maybe even sanity) it becomes a necessity rather than an option.

I invite you to the observance of a holy Advent. Advent is a season similar to Lent, but with more emphasis on “waiting”. It is a time of increased spiritual preparedness, marked with intentional prayer, study of scripture, focused worship, serious self-examination and, if deemed appropriate, fasting and self-denial. These are traditional ways to prepare ourselves for increased intimacy with God and above all else, this is a primary goal of this cycle of the Christian year.

Have you even given any thought to your spiritual preparation this season? Chances are that you have already begun to think about the other demands of the season. Our family has already had its first Christmas event when Marjie and I visited our children and grandchildren in mid-November. It was the only time we were going to be able to see them until sometime in the new year. As much as I think my old mentor, Fr Bill, would be disappointed that we compromised the integrity of Christmas (Advent too) it was something we needed to do.

Maybe one of the questions we ought to ask during Advent is, “Is this necessary or can it wait?” Another might be, “Does this enhance my walk with Christ, or does it clutter my life so that Jesus is harder to find?”

As much as this might increase the tension of an already complicated time, the invitation of God during the Advent season is to de-clutter our lives so that Jesus might be given even more room to be the primary influence. It might be reasonable to think that this will also cause the angels to sing as they harmonized that first Christmas morn!

Wishing you a Blessed Advent,

Jerry