In the northern hemisphere, the dark hours each day last longer this time of year. Anticipation--and likely higher stress levels--inhabit our thoughts and propel our actions. Waiting for more light, for an event, or to get through a painful season after loss seems a way of life. Writer and Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren acknowledges, “We begin our Christian year in waiting. We do not begin with our own frenetic effort or energy. We do not begin with the merriment of Christmas or the triumph of Easter. We do not begin with the work of the church or the mandate of the Great Commission. Instead, we begin in a place of yearning. We wait for our king to come.”
Starting December 3 this year, the observance of Advent invites us to focus our waiting and watching on Jesus. This short period up to Christmas tunes our minds and spirits into a different rhythm than our human selves may usually follow.
On her blog, A Sacred Journey, Lacy Clark Ellman explains, “The word ‘advent’ means beginning, coming, arrival, and it might as well mean ‘opening,’ too, because to fully experience its gifts we must first open ourselves up to the unknown that is so common in seasons of darkness, waiting, and anticipation.”
Prayer is a prime means of this waiting and opening, Ellman says, “because prayer in itself is an opening—an opening up of ourselves to God and an opening, or beginning, for what is to come.”
Many authors and faiths offer ideas and outlines for preparing oneself via Advent for the celebration of the incarnational coming of Jesus at Christmas. Books, blogs, websites, and podcasts are plentiful. What generally are not plentiful are our time and our concentration—that’s how participating in an Advent practice can bless and still us.
One simple path through the month via Advent is choosing a word or theme: Hope. Light. Peace. Joy. Await. Seek Scripture attuned to this word or theme. Discover some music—instrumental or vocal--that relates and undergirds the word/theme. Make or contemplate art. (See more resources below.)
Anticipation can be both stimulating and anxiety-arousing. Engaging in an Advent practice can steer our anticipation in a deeper, satisfying, and maturing way.
InterVarsity Press offers Advent resources such as Tish Harrison Warren’s new book, Advent: The Season of Hope and A Radiant Birth: Advent Readings for a Bright Season by various authors, and Making Room In Advent: 25 Devotions for a Season of Wonder by Bette Dickinson.
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