Happy New Year!
Wait. What?
Seriously, the beginning of the Church calendar is Advent. We all have various calendars that govern our lives. The school year determines when families go on vacation. The hallmark year determines what holidays we may celebrate by sending cards. And our various cultures or unique family traditions even give shape to our lives (I.e. Chinese New Year or Cinco de Mayo).
So what is it about advent that is meant to give shape into our lives?
Writer and professor, Christena Cleveland, put it this way:
“Advent is an invitation to plunge into the deep, dark waters of our worst world, knowing that when we re-surface for air we will encounter the hopeful, hovering Spirit of God. For when we dive into the depths of our worst world, we reach a critical point at which our chocolate and pageants no longer satiate our longing for hope – and we are liberated by this realization. Indeed, the light of true hope is found in the midst of darkness.”
Over the next few weeks, we are going to be looking at Jesus’ birth from the gospel accounts. The brilliant thing is that through the lives of Zechariah, Mary, the Shepherds, and the Magi, we see that Jesus came for all of us — the religious and privileged, the devoted, the forgotten and overlooked, and the lost. Without God’s intervening grace, without God with us, we live in a dark world. Advent is a season that teaches us to expect and look for his intervening grace.
As you enter into this holiday season and new year: will you approach Jesus with an expectant hush or a brief rush?