Advent: the season of waiting has begun. Over the four weeks leading to Christmas, the tradition for Christians is to wait, to prepare, and to anticipate the coming of Christ. Even amid the commercialization of Christmas, our spiritual practice is to pause, be still, and experience quiet as we wait.
In entering this Advent season, for what or for whom do you wait? What do you long for? What do you anticipate?
As scientists warn us of a new coronavirus variant called Omicron, perhaps you long for a return to activities and habits you enjoyed before the pandemic. As you or a loved one undergo chemotherapy, radiation, or another treatment, perhaps you wait for a cure or comfort. As you try to balance your finances while the cost of almost everything increases due to inflation, perhaps you hope for some kind of relief to reduce life’s stresses. Or perhaps after long hours of work, taking on extra duties because of the worker shortage, you anticipate the few extra days off to relax during the holidays. Many things fill us with longing, with anticipation of some good outcome, or of some hoped for circumstance. In Advent, we are reminded that we must wait.
The ancient people of Israel observed their own kind of advent. They waited and waited for generations. As a nation, the Jewish people experienced a series of occupations by foreign governments who maintained crushing economic exploitation of their homeland. They waited. They hoped in a promise that one day a savior would come to set them free. They longed for the day when Israel would be restored as political power and a thriving nation. They anticipated a new leader, a chosen one, a messiah who would be much like Judas Maccabeus who led the revolt against one occupying nation about 160 years before the birth of Jesus. Yes, they anticipated and hoped for a leader who would set them free.
Did they expect a baby born in a manger? Did they think their new leader would be an itinerant preacher depending on others for his daily bread? Did they long for a rabble-rouser who would be sentenced to capital punishment? Of course not. None of this was part of their plan, their hope, their expectation.
Much like the people of ancient Israel, today some tell us what God’s coming will be. For the last hundred years, some Evangelical Christians have told us that God’s coming will be “the rapture” when living people will disappear by ascending to heaven. Some say that God comes when we recite certain prayers in specific ways. Many others say that their way is the only way to God. We want God to fit our image and desires rather than allow the advent of the Divine Mystery to unfold as it does.
Some ancient people recognized God’s coming in their midst. They weren’t the important people. They were the shepherds, people who camped out at night in the fields to protect their sheep. They were foreign astrologers who understood that signs in the sky should be followed. They were also devout elders, Anna and Simeon, who maintained vigils of prayer in the temple. These mystics understood that God would come in ways not expected.
For us, perhaps it’s best to let go of our preconceptions of what it will be like to encounter God in our lives. Instead, giving up our notions of what should be, this Advent season reminds us to pause, to be quiet, and to be open. Allow yourself to encounter the Holy One in whatever ways this experience may occur. Perhaps that may be an encounter with the Sacred in silence. Perhaps a message will be delivered by a stranger in the grocery store and by a word from a friend who knows you well. Perhaps you will see the presence of God in the face of a homeless person, the laughter of a child, or the frail walk of an elder person struggling with arthritis. The presence of the Divine is all around us and within us. In this Advent season, we are reminded to pause, to be still, to wait, and be open to experience the wonder of the Divine presence. Yes, the Holy One is born anew in our lives. It’s an encounter we celebrate at Christmas as well as an encounter we are invited to experience each day.
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