Steve's next Preparing The Way post is up, an Advent reflection he's called Asking Advent Questions:
Advent begins in the dark. Like waiting in a theatre for a movie to begin, the dimness of the room stirs in us anticipation for the coming light. The scriptures that are traditionally assigned in early advent are not light or lite and they call us to live a kind of double-life with our culture as we approach Christmas. All around us things are getting brighter. Houses, lamp-posts and trees are all coming alive with sparkle and glitter. Malls are beginning to play, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas.” But for those of us on the Advent road we are not yet there. We have some distance to travel first and for now, the road is dark. Our first step is to take an honest inventory of that darkness and one way to do that is by asking some ‘Advent questions.’
Recently a well-loved woman in our community was murdered doing her job. She was a good friend and co-worker to many. She was a new mother. In the wake of her death, more than one person has asked, “Where is God in this?” That’s a good advent question.
Last month my wife and celebrated the news that we would be parents again for the fourth time - two weeks later we discovered that we would never get to see the child. Apparently some babies are not meant to live. We are left sitting in the dark clutching broken expectations and wondering, “God? Didn’t you hear our prayers?"
You have some advent questions of your own. They may have to with failure, pain, broken dreams or broken-ness. They may come from an incident, a habit or just the realization that you are long ways from being the person you longed to be. Darkness comes in many forms and leaves plenty of questions scattered in its wake.
Can I make a suggestion as we begin this journey? Take some time today to speak your Advent questions. Stop for a few minutes and complain out loud to God. You do know how to complain right? Complaining to God is a long standing Scriptural practice. Begin advent by getting real with God. Ask Him the questions you wonder but have been afraid to speak. Don’t filter your words. Tell Him what you think of the darkness in your world – inside and out. As best as can let God have it and hear it. “Cry out in the night. Pour out your heart like water in prayer to the Lord.” (Lamentation 2:19) Just like you’ve got a pitcher of water and you’re pouring it out in a glass, you can pour out your heart to God. Tell Him all the emotions and ask Him all the questions that are bottled up inside of you. Ventilate vertically.
This is not an easy step. We’d rather surround ourselves with candles and angels and varnished nativity scenes. It takes a lot of courage to look into the dark. It takes guts to name and articulate the things that lurk in the shadows. And yet, the only place you can meet God is in reality, and sometimes the reality outside and inside is a messy, confusing, dark place. The authentic, hopeful light of Christmas comes not by looking away from the darkness but by looking straight into it. Not by looking away from death but directly into it. Otherwise the light will never be the real thing, it will flash and flicker but never give life.
So go ahead and complain! It just might be the most spiritual thing you can do today.
Yet another timely piece, speaking to me and to what I (and my family) have just been through. It's good to know that questioning God with questions that hint of faithlessness, that are tinged with doubt, that are sprung in moments of despair and hopelessness, might be questions with Scriptural precedence.
And it's imperative that in those dark moments we recall that in Christ there is victory. Isn't that hope defined? I think so.
Bookmark Steve's Advent site and keep checking back. I know I will.
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