Living Advent

Today we begin the great season of Advent - four weeks to prepare ourselves spiritually for the celebration of Jesus’ birth.

It goes without saying that we as a Church prepare for Christmas in a very different way than the rest of the world does.

Outside, homes and businesses are strung with festive, colored lights. Here, we have only added the one candle of the Advent wreath. Outside, we can hear Christmas music playing non-stop on radios and in stores. Here, we sing songs of longing for the coming of our Messiah. Outside, homes are decorated with Christmas trees, garland and ribbons. Here, we have kept our church nearly bare, wearing the color purple as a sign of penance. Outside, the world is already celebrating Christmas. Within these walls, we continue to keep vigil for the coming of God in the person of Jesus Christ.

For the Church, Advent is not a time to make merry. It is not a time for parties and gift-giving. Rather, it is a time of quiet reflection. During these four weeks, we prepare for Jesus’ birth by contemplating our longing for a Savior. We recognize that we are weak and sinful people who have gone astray. Our only hope is that God take pity on us and stoop down from heaven to save us. Until we realize that God is our only hope for salvation, Christmas will be just another reason to take a day off from work and gather with family. Advent is a time for us to pray for the grace to acknowledge our profound need for the salvation only God can bring.

For that reason, the season of Advent is very much like the season of Lent. It is a time for us to confess our sins and make a special effort to amend our lives. If we are to live these four weeks of Advent well, then, we should approach them the same way we do the season of Lent. Perhaps we could consider giving something up, like candy or alcohol. It may seem impossible at this time of year to give up sweets, but imagine the witness it would show to others about how we should truly prepare for the birth of Jesus. Another practice we might want to undertake is to pray more frequently, perhaps spending some time reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. Prayer, fasting and acts of charity to our neighbor will help us to focus our minds and hearts these weeks on Jesus, the reason for the Christmas Season.

Another way we can live this Advent season well would be to put off decorating our homes until a week before Christmas. Rather than busying ourselves with getting a tree, decorating it and stringing lights around our home, we can gather our family around the Advent wreath for prayer together. Or we could set up a manger scene and wait until Christmas day to place the baby Jesus in it. As a family, we might discuss what the birth of Jesus means to us and how we can give Him more of a central place in our home. And if people ask us why we haven’t decorated our homes yet, we can explain to them that we want to live these days in quiet anticipation, preparing our hearts for Christ before preparing our homes for holiday visitors.

Along with putting up our decorations later, we can keep them up longer. Many of us might notice how, the day after Christmas, our neighbors are already taking down their lights and ribbons. However, for Christians, Christmas is not a day but an entire season. Traditionally, Christmas decorations have been kept up until the feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Doing so will help us to reflect on God’s loving presence in our lives long after the hustle and bustle of shopping and hosting family has ended.

In the past few decades, Christmas has become increasingly less religious for our society as a whole. Traditional Christmas carols have been replaced with songs about reindeer, elves, gift giving and winter weather. We seldom hear people wish us a “Merry Christmas” outside of church. That is why it is important for us to keep the spiritual meaning of Christmas alive not only for our families but for our society. When we decorate our homes, we should fill them with religious symbols rather than just pictures of Santa Claus and reindeers. Our Christmas cards should also have religious themes making it clear what we are celebrating. In all we do, we should remain focused on what Christmas is about - not just a time to give gifts or get together with friends and family but as a time to worship God for sending us a Savior, Jesus Christ.

The four weeks of Advent are short and will pass quickly. It is easy for us to get inundated with all the shopping that needs to get done before Christmas day. With all the noise around us, we can lose focus on Jesus and fail to prepare our hearts as well as our homes. Jesus’ words in today’s gospel have special meaning for us as we begin this Advent season: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life.” It is tempting to think that in these weeks leading up to Christmas we are too busy to pray or spend time reading the Bible. If we decide to treat this Advent season the same way we treat Lent, it will keep us from getting carried away and losing the opportunity to prepare our hearts for Jesus.

Christmas can be a sad day for many people. All the empty sentimentality and nostalgia of the day can leave them asking, “Is this all there is?” It is up to us to share with them the true meaning of Christmas - that God so loved the world that He sent Jesus to save us. We will be better able to do that if we spend these weeks of Advent making amends for our sins and waiting with quiet anticipation for the only One who can save us - Jesus, the baby born for us on Christmas Day.