Loading...Every year, it seems to begin earlier than the last. I saw Christmas decorations on display in stores before Halloween. Black Friday sales started before the day after Thanksgiving. It feels like commerce and trade are more important than the “Reason for the Season.”
For Christians, that reason is the birth of Jesus, and the preparation for his return. It is a curious time where, as Episcopalian Christians, we are preparing our hearts, minds, and souls to welcome this babe, warmed by hymns and stories, while simultaneously recognizing our mortality with the promised coming of Jesus “in glory to judge the living and the dead.”
Over the course of the next four Sundays, we will hear apocalyptic stories—stories of the end times. They might leave us afraid and worried about our place in God’s kingdom. This helps us dig a little bit into our lives, checking in on the health of our relationship with our Redeemer. It’s why Advent can be experienced as penitential.
At the same time, we light candles each week, reminding us that even as we are reflecting on our lives, our relationship with God, and the state of the world, perhaps reflecting on what is hard, scary, or even in need of repentance, there is HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE coming with the birth of a babe.
Reconciling the mixed emotional responses to this time of the year, we also lean into the commercial side of expressing our fondness toward others with gift giving, gatherings, and an abundance of traditional foods. And graciously helping those in need.
It is a holy time. A time to give thanks for the abundance in our lives. An opportunity to reflect.
May this Holy Season, filled with Holy moments, be memorable.
With hope that comes from God’s love,
Debbie+
