Wednesday Wonder – November 29, 2023

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. But … we have to wait.

No matter where you turn, it seems, Christmas has arrived. The decorations are up everywhere, carols are blaring through the mall speakers and have been since early November, invitations are out for Christmas parties. Some of this is because our society is trying to celebrate more than just Christmas now. I love that we acknowledge there are other ways to celebrate during this time of year. Bringing many traditions together makes the whole season brighter and richer.

But back to Christmas, specifically, since that is the holy-day, we as follows of Christ, Christians, celebrate. The season of Christmas begins the evening of Christmas Eve and continues until Epiphany, January 6th. Remember the Christmas song, The Twelve Days of Christmas? That is why there are twelve days in the song. The season of Christmas is twelve days long.

In the church, we are not at Christmas yet. We are just beginning the season of Advent. Advent is a season of watching, waiting and preparing. The decorating crew was here at the church yesterday. (Thank you all. The church looks great.) For many, all the decorations signal what is coming. But it isn’t here yet!

We cannot rush to Christmas. We need this Advent time to reflect on the year past, to take some time to think about what the arrival of the Christ child really means. Not just to the world, but to us personally. Advent, like Lent, is a time of preparation. And yes, some of those preparations require time and once done make us feel like it is Christmas, or almost.

Beginning this Sunday, we will be focusing worship on preparation. Talking about all that happens before we get to that starry, stable night. Storytime will remind us about the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It took more than a couple of days. The scriptures and messages will focus on angel visits and how humans reacted. We will be preparing for the big night that arrives in four weeks.

Yes, we need to get our spaces looking festive. It helps us get in the spirit of the season. Yes, we can start singing carols before the big night, but there are some great Advent hymns too. Yes, it is hard to be somewhat at odds with society about where we should be in our celebrations. But, we need hearts and minds prepared to welcome the Christ child again. Are you truly ready? You still have time.

I have a nativity set at home that I painted. Over the years, my son, Stephen, has just accepted that “that’s just Mom” when it comes to how it goes up. I place the stable structure at the start of Advent, the next week the animals appear. By Advent 3, I have added Mary and Joseph. And then, on Christmas Eve I come home from church and place the angel singing, “Gloria!”, the shepherd with his sheep and the baby Jesus. Meanwhile, the Magi sit at the other end of the room, nowhere near the stable. They slowly make their way toward the scene and arrive on Epiphany. Just in time for the scene to be put away until next year.

We live in a society that wants everything to happen now. Waiting is not something most of us are good at anymore. But Advent is a time of waiting. If we take this time to wait and prepare, we may find that by Christmas Eve, we are not completely frazzled, but everything is ready for the baby. And maybe, just maybe, we are able to be fully open to the Spirit of Christmas. I hope to be able to sit quietly, fully awake and attentive to the baby who will bring new wonder to our family this year. Just like the family of Jesus did so long ago.

After all, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” But he isn’t here yet!

Peace,
Rev. Mary-Jane