Steve, at Ponder This..., has invited us on an adventure of sorts.
Advent is ancient. For the past 1500 years or so it has been the season of preparing for Jesus' arrival on earth. It’s a time to identify with the sense of longing for the Messiah’s coming that has been felt by so many generations of God’s people.
Honoring the meaning of advent is difficult for me. Not just because of the frenzied pace of the Christmas season (is there a busier time of year?). Not even because of the blatant commercialism and consumerism. For me, advent is hard because waiting is hard. Advent kicks my ingrained desire for instant gratification in the butt. I’ve always had a hard time waiting to open presents and I have a hard time waiting for the blessing of 'God with us'. I want a lot this year and I want it now! I want Joy to the World not another verse of O Come, O Come Emmanuel!
The result has been that I have short-circuited the meaning of Christmas. Each year I sit down to a huge feast only to find myself already full from snacking. The food still tastes good but it doesn’t satisfy my real hunger - I’m already full of chocolates, candy-canes and too much eggnog. Advent is a purposefully waiting and intentionally fasting so that when the meal arrives I can discover that it satisfies my tastebuds, my stomach and my expectations.
This year I’m on a journey to intentionally delay Christmas in order to experience it more truly and fully when it finally comes. I want to practice a kind of delayed gratification - trusting that it will culminate in a satisfaction that is all the richer for the waiting.
Would you like to come?
This road will require you to make a space in your heart to stay, sit, listen, ponder, linger, wonder and behold. There is a time for rushing and worrying and pushing and striving but that time is not now. For now, we need to choose to live in dissonance with December hoopla and choose to wait and allow anticipation to build. If your heart and mind and schedule are as full as mine, you will need to do some re-adjusting and removal to make room for Jesus. That's where this web-space comes in. Along with a few friends , I will be sharing some "preparation" thoughts. My hope is that together we can stir up some hunger.
I'll be checking things out daily here. I'm going to suggest you do the same.
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