For most of the country, the Christmas season officially began on Friday or Saturday. In the next four weeks "the holidays" will frenetically crescendo until their abrupt end once the last piece of wrapping paper hits the floor on December 25th. Four weeks of intense pressure to get the perfect gift by the 25th. Four weeks of radio stations playing the same thirty or so songs. Four weeks of anticipatory celebration of one day in December, which envelopes and overloads us to the point that many people dislike the season altogether. This is the warped commercial version of Christmas that has been packaged and issued to all of us. It keeps our focus inward, making even giving more about the giver than the receiver. I must give the perfect gift, I must host the perfect dinner, I must have a perfectly decorated home, or else what will people think of me? And I think we all know inside that this isn't right. It comes through in some of the songs and stories that Christmas is more than all of the external trimmings. But how do we focus when the weeks leading up to Christmas Day are so hectic, the commercials so insistent, the music non-stop? We need time in the quiet. We need time to prepare our hearts. We need Advent.
December 25th is only the start of the twelve days of Christmas and the Christmas season that continues until the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. The four weeks before Christmas make up the season of Advent. Advent comes from the Latin word meaning arrival. It is a season of hopeful preparation for the arrival of the Savior on Christmas Day. Somehow, Advent has not been picked up as a secular holiday season the way Christmas has, perhaps because a season of waiting and self-denial is not as easily marketable as a season of celebration. On Christmas Day, Advent is what allows us to say "It's finally here!" rather than "It's finally over." This is a time to pause, to wake up and to listen. We can get caught up in our daily routine and start doing things by mere rote. Now is our chance to be intentional in the way we live our lives. This is a time to put others before ourselves and listen before we speak. Maybe instead of spending all month finding our parent or sibling or friend the perfect gift, we can spend time with them and simply rejoice in their company. Pay attention to the people in your life. Watch for chances to build others up. Prepare for Christmas instead of celebrating it early.
Wake up and listen! Be attentive and watchful. Prepare. Find beauty in simplicity.
