Advent is not a dash down Oxford Street
It's a steady, deliberate, meaningful walk in the light of the Lord.
It may appear that the word journey is over used, but I think it might actually apply to anything that requires preparation: I start at one point, move through several steps or moments and end at an outcome or destination.
Every time we go on a journey, we prepare, we get ready. The range of our preparedness is vast. If the journey is buying a house, changing jobs, getting married, having a family the preparation is significant. If the journey is walking the dog, less so. We still prepare, we still put on the right shoes and a decent coat, make sure the poo bags and a treat or two are in a pocket. Our preparation for that journey is different. Our 'getting ready' is different.
Christmas can be like that. For some, Christmas preparations began in September (if not earlier!). The cards are made/bought and written, gifts are made/bought and wrapped and the waiting consists of waiting for a posting date. One that's not too early. (Yet recognising that it might be too early for the recipient to realise so the words 'for Christmas' are written all over the parcel).
I have fond memories of dashing down Regent Street and Oxford Street manically purchasing presents on Christmas Eve. There is nothing festive, romantic or nostalgic about it. Just expensive.
Advent is a different kind of getting ready. It’s not the frantic checklist or the last minute dash. It really is a journey, and not the over-used kind but a steady, deliberate, meaningful journey.
The dashing is something some of us (me) might have to work on. Isaiah invites us to join this journey at a certain pace:
“Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”
Walk.
Isaiah paints a picture of people turning their faces towards the mountain of the Lord, drawn by the promise of peace.
But, we are tempted to rush. We want the good stuff that Christmas brings; The manger, the carols, the family, the food, the warm glow, the break from work…We want to fast-forward to the good bits. (and of course there's also those who find Christmas really really hard!).
Advent gently says; not yet, just wait because there is wisdom in this waiting and there is a holiness in the slowing down. Advent offers us gifts of pause and reflection and there will be a familiar pattern to the lectionary for many as we journey through Advent there will be moments that encourages reflection, and without wishing to 'dash' through Advent I have found it helpful to pick some of those moments out as this journey begins. (I realise this might come across as a Christmas list, the irony isn't lost on me...).
Handel captured this perfectly...The Refiner's Fire, allowing God to burn away what is not needed, what weighs us down, what distracts us from His light. It is an honest, searching moment but it might lead to a purity of purpose.
A pause of holy uncertainty in The Annunciation. Mary doesn’t know the full journey that lies ahead, but she says 'yes' to God anyway. Her readiness is not about having a plan. The journey becomes personal. A young, vulnerable woman in Nazareth receives news that she couldn't possible be ready for. Mary doesn’t understand the whole picture. She doesn’t have any idea of what is really happening, but she says:
“Let it be to me according to your word.”
It is the moment Heaven’s plan becomes embraced on earth and Mary's trust in the message from God is inspirational.
A pause for discernment. Joseph’s world has fallen apart. He must be thinking what on earth! (or not) and God speaks in the quiet of the night: “Do not be afraid.”, talk about 'easier said than done'.
The getting ready involves a huge amount of courage to hear these words even when it is costly, confusing, or unexpected.
Joseph’s assent is quieter than Mary’s, but no less faithful. His courage and readiness makes the journey possible.
Mary and Elizabeth together, a pause of companionship. A reminder that preparation is not something we do alone. Faith growing in the presence of other faithful people.
These early moments in Advent might ask How are we preparing? Who is walking with us? What might God be asking of us this Advent?
We aren’t meant to sprint through these questions. We’re meant to walk with them.
Oh, Mary's Song of Praise. Just stunning.
This outward call of holiness, the hope she expresses. This is no longer an internal journey but an alignment with God's priorities for his people. Time for a pause.
If Isaiah paints the distant horizon of hope, Paul stands us in the present moment and says. Now. This is the moment. This is the time to prepare your heart.
Advent isn’t only about where we’re going. It’s about how we live on the way; moving from preparation into movement, from inner readiness into outward response. I reflected on this after the service yesterday, where Romans 13:11-14 featured as the springboard for a simply outstanding sermon.
Matt
And as we continue to march through Advent, we're almost certain to hear:
Putting one foot in front of the other. Mary and Joseph did it. Sometimes our spiritual journeys look like this; step after step, day after day, following where God leads, even when the journey feels ordinary or tiring.
While Mary and Joseph journey, the shepherds watch. They aren’t expecting angels, they are simply doing their job and are awake, alert and present while they're doing it. They’re ready.
In Advent terms, this is Romans made visible; to be spiritually awake and therefore to be open to God’s surprising arrival and we must keep watch for signs of hope (which is really hard!).
Now we can feel the Christmas energy building! One of my favourite hymns is based around this story. (Margie would say it's because it's in a minor key...)
Following a star across unfamiliar lands with little information and no guarantees. Their preparation, their getting ready, is a journey of faith without certainty. That mystery of what will be found gives me goosebumps.
When we gather up all these pauses; the refining, listening, trusting, encouraging, praising, travelling, watching, seeking, enduring, we discover the whole shape of Advent not being one of a countdown to Christmas but an invitation to walk with God.
To reflect honestly on our lives to be awake to God’s presence and to prepare for the Christ who comes not only in the manger long ago, but into our hearts now, and into our world still.
And the miracle, I think, is that we aren’t walking towards God alone. God is walking towards us, he's still not given up, and in every step, in every pause and in every moment of preparation and readiness, Emmanuel, God with us.
Slowly. Gently. Honestly.
I pray to our heavenly Father for an Advent that allows all of us to prepare inwardly, outwardly and peacefully.
This is stunning.
