I love this time of the year. I am such a kid and I don’t care whether folks know it or not. It is the one reason I desire great wealth…..to give it away freely. I would love to walk into a store, see a person loaded down with gifts for their kids and just pay for all of it. As crazy as it sounds, I have dreamed of being able to do that all of my life, even when I actually was a kid. I am not sure why.
Advent is the time we realize that as the world grows darker each day, a tiny spark of light remains. As we pass the four Sundays of Advent, the light grows brighter until it is “born” on Christmas day. Do I know that Jesus was not born on December 25th? Of course, I do, but to get hung up on the date of birth is to miss the point of the entire life of Christ. Advent is celebrated at this time of the year because it coincides with what is happening in Nature itself. The harvest has come, the flowers are spent, it is getting colder, and darker. That is why we celebrate Thanksgiving just before it, to go toward Advent with a full heart after a long year of work.
Advent is (or at least should be) celebrated as the Christian New Year by all of us who are followers. We should see the gifts we give as the celebration of a successful year that has preceded and the hope for a new year on the horizon. We should freely give because it is the right thing to do. But, we need to be giving things that count eternally. It is not about the money spent or the expense of the gifts. It is about having an attitude that celebrates the abundance of our lives and the desire to give that away to others.
Those gifts? How about hospitality? How about genuine concern? How about a kind word? Most of all how about opening our eyes and seeing all that there is in the world, and then embracing it with unmerited love? Maybe that is what “raised to walk in newness of life” really means.
TMM