Secret confession? I didn't juuuuust have chocolate Advent countdown-to-Christmas calendars as a child. There's a chocolate advent calendar in my bedroom right now, thanks to my dear roommate's mom, Mrs. Gibbs, who makes sure the girls at Bethesda celebrate each holiday to the full. Not only do I countdown with chocolate, there's also the red and green paper chain that I make with my Dad every year. I love the satisfying feeling of ripping off one link each day in December; one less day to Christmas.
Anticipation, that's what this month is marked by, isn't is? During Advent, we count down and eagerly await the big moment: Christmas Day. I know for me, and for a lot of people in my life, it's easy to get lost in the hurrah of the next four weeks: the rush of shopping malls, perfectly wrapped gifts, the party planning, the sheer focus and determination of getting things done. And then what happens? We miss the entirety of Advent. We anticipate Christmas, and Advent slips right through out fingertips.
The older I get, the more I appreciate Advent. There are a lot of days during the month of December where the Christmas rush is so overwhelming, but Advent brings me back to the truth in this season. If you've spent any amount of time on this blog, or with me in person, you know it's about time to cue some Shauna Niequist, because she's going to explain advent better than I could. This excerpt comes from her book Bittersweet:
"Advent is about waiting, anticipating, yearning. Advent is the question, the pleading, and Christmas is the answer to that question, the response to the howl. There are moments in this season when I don't feel a lot like Christmas, but I do feel like Advent."
For the next four weeks, during the most precious time of Advent, I don't want to get lost in Christmas. I don't want to get lost in consumerism, in rushing, in mania and pressure. That's not to say I don't want to enjoy the Christmas season. I'm all about peppermint tea, looking at the windows downtown, decorating the tree, having as many Christmas related dance parties with my roommates as possible, and spending seriously quality time with people I love, not to mention wearing my ugly Christmas sweaters day in and day out. I want to enjoy Christmas, believe me, but what I desire the next four weeks to be marked by is Advent. I want to get lost in Advent. Right here. Right now. Lost in this season, in the ultimate and eager anticipation of what's to come, lost in the most tangible symbol of hope, yearning for something more, recognizing and living in the tension of here, but not yet.
I want to strip down to the most basic and poignant truth I know: that Jesus came once, as a baby in a manger to rescue us, and that He will come again, bringing Heaven to Earth. There's a beautiful depiction of that coming in the book of Revelation:
"God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new." (Revelation 21: 3-5)
God will be with us, living with us. He will wipe away all pain, hurt, and brokenness. Everything will be new. Everything will be reconciled. It will be Heaven. On Earth. To me, that sounds like the most worthy place for our hope and anticipation; the promise of what's to come. Until then, we're living in tension. The tension of the Kingdom being right now, but not yet. In the book of Matthew, the last thing Jesus tells His disciples is that although he is leaving, He will be with them through the end of the age (it's in Matthew 28). In other words, the His Kingdom is with them. Always. Through the end of the age. Doesn't that mean it's with us, right now? The Kingdom is here. In each of us. Everyday. Everyday we live in it, but according to Scripture, this is only a glimpse of what's to come.
So what does that mean for Advent, for life right now as we're living it? It's walking in the hope and anticipation of what's to come. It's living in the reminder that something beautiful has been promised to us. Something more is coming. The season of Advent is the most searing and real reminder of that great hope. It's something worth joyfully anticipating. There is something more to come, and I want to marvel and relinquish and rest and find peace in that truth.
"Let yourself fall open to advent, to anticipation, to the belief that what is empty will be filled, what is broken will be repaired, and what is lost can always be found, no matter how many times it's been lost." - Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet
That is my prayer and my hope and my earnest desire for the next four weeks: to lay myself fully open to Advent; clinging to the promise that there's something more to come.
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