We have begun Advent as a church. However more pressing to most Americans is that we have begun the “holiday season” As it is many of us already feel too busy with daily life even before December arrives. How quickly the calendar fills up with Christmas cookie exchange gatherings, office Christmas parties, trips to see family members who are out of town, and if that is not busy enough someone you know is bound to have a birthday in December. We shop, we decorate, we plan, we prepare, we feel stress, but we do not often stop and rest.
The season of Advent helps us to see and ponder how Jesus comes to us as our King, in Old Testament Prophesy, in his birth in Bethlehem, and in the promise of his return on the last day. On Christmas we will celebrate the birth of the long awaited Savior. For centuries and centuries God’s people waited for the promised of Eve’s offspring who would come to crush Satan’s head. During the few weeks of December leading up to the Eve of the 24th we also can wait. We can apply to our lives stillness and silence, clearing our thoughts and resting our bodies in preparation for our celebration of Christmas and the joy of the Word of God made flesh.
On a holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas we also notice who is not with us. We think of and miss those who we have lost in our life or who we might be estranged from by the circumstances of our fallen world. We may feel emotions of grief and loss mixed with cherished memories of times past. For some it all adds up to a time of feeling like it is all too much. Instead of a gift and thing to look forward to a holiday can become a bittersweet occasion. Some Christmas songs pick up on this such as “White Christmas,” which retells memories of those Christmas days past so fondly remembered- and now can only be dreamed of. The celebration of the birth of Jesus transcends who is and who is not with us, and can never be reduced to only a dream or memory of past joy.
So what can we do to recover the joy of the holidays? I have already hinted that the design of the church year is that Advent is meant to be a time of quiet and reflection. A time to repent and prepare our hearts for the love of Jesus. It may serve you well to schedule time off work early in December to sort through feelings of loss that you encounter in the holiday. Likewise you might consider unplugging electronics from your daily routine and setting aside time on a daily basis to read the scripture during this time of Advent.
You might also focus your thoughts on what the celebration of the birth of Jesus means for you in your life today. Instead of focusing on what you need to do to get through the Christmas Holiday, think instead of how the church’s celebration of the Word made flesh can bring renewed purpose and joy in your heart. Think of the how the coming of Jesus changes your life and changes our world. Read through the Beatitudes and give thanks for how blessed we are that God comes to us in love through Jesus, as he first did on Christmas. If you struggle with loneliness during this time of the year you might find one friend who you can write a letter to or go out of your way to bless in some way.
When it comes to mental health acceptance goes a very long way. As God’s own children, let us accept and cherish the time and season we have before us. Let us embrace the meaning of Christmas of 2019. Your brother in Christ, Pastor Fuller