Advent

I was out of town this past Sunday, the Sunday before Advent. I was in Arkansas on another ageless ritual handed down to me by our forefathers time out of mind - Opening Day of hunting season. To honor this hallowed tradition, I almost always take off with my brother and several men of our church to spend a weekend at Duck Camp. It is the sort of thing I can’t explain. For instance, if you said to me, “Jim, let me get this straight, you got up at 3:45 in the morning. You drove 100 miles then got in a boat that took you to the middle of flooded timber and there you stood in cold water for three hours, are you serious?” I guess I would have to say “Well, it does seem crazy, but hey, cheap therapy!”Anyway, when I got to the church Monday, it was a beehive of activity. Actually, I couldn’t wait to get there, because when I got home from Duck Hunting on Sunday, my wife was at the church decorating! Yes, if you are new to St. Patrick you will see that we will “gild the lily” when it comes to making the church reflect one of the more joyful seasons in the church year! This is the first year in our new place that we are so thankful for. I still drive to work everyday and see the church off in the distance as I come up the hill on Byhalia and I am so grateful to God for a place to invite old friends, new friends, strangers, relatives, in-laws, and out-laws to come and hear about a God who would bankrupt heaven for his enemies.So yes, during the season of Advent we want the exterior to reflect the magnitude of what we celebrate. We are not Gnostics after all, we are creatures created in God’s image to respond to beauty. So, it is a joy to see what our new building will look like as we celebrate our first Advent in our home (I love that)! I must say it is rather emotional. For years we decorated something we didn’t own (and it was a chore to make it beautiful), so to decorate our own space, space that is consecrated as a place where a community of faith in God meets weekly - well, that has meaning. I can’t wait for you to see it!Some of you might wonder, what Advent means and why it is such a big deal, and that is a fair question. I was raised Baptist and we celebrated Christmas, but never Advent as a season that anticipated Christmas and the Incarnation. So why the fuss? Why four weeks? Is this really a big deal? I thought we celebrate Christ's coming every Sunday? Here is why we think this is a huge deal and why we will go to great lengths to press the “weightiness” of the Incarnation on everyone’s conscience.“Advent:” actually means “coming or appearing.” The mystery of the season of Advent is that while we loudly celebrate the coming of God into the world, it came quietly, scandalously, and subversively. Jesus was born into poverty, in a place that was not his home and had dubious attendants who were there to welcome him. The celebration that will surround our church and family looks nothing like that. Both our church and our homes are gilded and festooned in such a manner that you know something big is happening, nothing is spared - beauty adorns places that never get noticed most of the year. A tree is brought in and adorned with lights and ornaments. The music that surrounds Advent is telling. Once a year, hymns and carols are sung that nudge us to think of giving gifts and a telling a story that happened long ago. We also have a ton of books that, once a year, I read to my children and now will read to my grandsons. The original Christmas was hidden and quiet, but our Christmas’ are the exact opposite. Why?The reasons are varied and are worth pondering because they do give us a clue to the nature of reality and of human nature. The whole reason for festive celebration is to jog the memory, to point us to a greater reality. The most important thing in history is the coming of the God of the universe into the world. We celebrate because, in the rush and crush of living, we tend to forget the most important things. Life is fast and furious and in suburbia, it is faster and even more furious. The church, for centuries (following the rhythms of life they observed in ancient Israel), set a whole season to ponder the greatest mystery in the world - the God/man, two natures joined in one person. Jesus’ incarnation means God visited us, it means God shares our nature; he came down so we could be rescued and know God. When something meaningful happens in our lives or in human history, what do we do? Give thanks and move on? Mentally ponder the spiritual ramifications of the sublime? No! A thousand times, no! We do what the Father in the parable of the Prodigal son did when his lost son came home; we bring out the fine china, we kill the fatted calf, and we invite the community of people who were with us in the house of mourning to come and share our earth shattering joy. We embody our joy in festive celebration and invite others to participate with us.This is not all that we celebrate at Advent. Advent is not just a reminder that God did come in the flesh; it is also an anticipation that he will one day come back to earth and, just as he promised, “make all things new.” When things are hard, I ponder the great promises of restoration. And yes, the fact that everything is decked to the nines, makes those promises real to me. One day nothing in this world will be ugly, broken, or dead - all will be new and glorious. But until then, Advent is a reminder that “we aren’t home yet,” and we are the people who are about blessing and healing in the brokenness around us - wherever we see it!The wait is over, Advent is upon us!