ADVENT'S SECRET

Christmas cards are rolling in and the pressure is on! Bake the cookies, send the cards, mail the packages, buy the gifts, wrap them, tie the bows, hang the garlands, make the gingerbread, decorate the tree and on and on it goes. How do we maneuver these demands in a meaningful way? Perhaps we can pray for every card that comes in as we light the Advent candles at dinner time, and we have done this for years. Or maybe we limit the purchases to only a few and buy gifts for those in need. All this trimming has been done to the gluttony of Christmas activities, yet, I am searching still..I wonder if there is a "secret" to getting through the holiday in a holy way?

Might Advent hold a secret to comfort me as I navigate The Nativity's festivities?

What if it was really simple?

What if it was hope?

A Babe came in a manger bringing hope to a girl with an unplanned pregnancy, it brought hope to the lowly shepherds out on a hill and it brought hope to a world caught in political tension that was filled with hatred and oppression. No one expected an angelic announcement and a Divine visitation, nor, I am afraid, do we. We expect catalogs and cards, presents and pews full of family. If I open my heart to the hope of Advent- that God sees me and knows me, and longs to reveal Himself to me then I rightly place my expectation in His unfailing love. Our hearts are longing to believe everything will be okay- in our world, in our families, in our children's lives, and yet oftentimes it looks so dark. Have faith. No matter how dark our world seems, "the people walking in darkness have seen a great light," Isaiah 9:2.

What are you hoping for this Advent? An end to violence and hatred? Help for the poor and marginalized? A cure for a sick loved one? A way back home for a child you love?  Let hope in the Light of the World comfort you as you walk this Advent season. And may Emmanuel, God with us, give us hope to believe.

Medicine from Sacred Writing

“He, the Son of God, gives on His day secret comforts.”

Hymn XIV on the Nativity
Ephraim The Syrian