A Christmas Like No Other: Leaning Into Advent

                                                                                 

This will be a Christmas like no other. As we re-gain our footing after a fall, as we try hard to see through the mist to find the path we are to walk, as plans are laid aside to wait for the journey to unfold in a way unplanned, we come into the Christmas season. We come into Advent.

We come into the very essence of Christmas that is so often lost in the glitter and the glow, in the frantic activities and accumulations of stuff, in the traditions and the trappings. We come into waiting and unfulfilled expectations, we come into hope and longing, we come into brokenness and bondage that longs for release…Advent. In church we sing, “Come thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free, from our sins and fears release us, let us find our rest in Thee.” This is Advent.

And we begin to understand what we never fully realized before: that without Advent, the beauty and miracle and joy of Christmas cannot be fully realized. Without the days of darkness, the light does not shine as brightly. Without the days of grief, the joy is not so overwhelming. Without the days of longing, the fulfillment of the waiting is not so wondrous. Advent is about anticipation of a promise fulfilled, but the Scripture readings for Advent remind us of all who did not see the promise come, of those who lived and died before Immanuel made his earthly appearance to “ransom captive Israel.”

Understanding “the hope and fears of all the years” which is wrapped up in Advent is what enables us to see how they are “met in Thee tonight”, through the long awaited birth of the Messiah who came to fulfill all the hopes and quell all the fears.

And this first Advent reminds us that we still, daily, live in another Advent…as the first coming was not the last, and the world still groans, waiting for release, and God’s people still suffer under sin’s cruel power…waiting, waiting, for the One who first came as a baby and will return,someday, in triumph as conquering King to finally set all things right. "...a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious dawn." But the dawn is not yet realized in the fullness of the  glory to come, but someday it will shine out. So we wait.

So, for this Christmas, we lean into Advent. We seek to learn, not just to wait, but to wait in expectation for the joy to come. We seek to live in the “what is,” while knowing that the “what is not yet “ is more marvelous than we can imagine. We seek to listen to God’s voice, for in Advent He speaks to our hearts that He is at work in the darkness. We seek eyes to see Him around us where we have been too busy to look before. We seek to " prepare Him room" in our lives every moment.

We seek to live in the understanding that, “Advent, it is made of the moments. This slow unfurling of grace.” (Ann Voskamp ) We look for the moments, for the daily grace lavished in our lives, the small mercies, the acts of generosity, the gifts of love that flow around us, to see and acknowledge and not let even a drop of grace go unrecognized.

For most Christmas pasts, we have been too rushed, too busy, too dazzled by the tinsel of Christmas to truly slow down and lean into Advent. But, now, we are aware that God is calling us, speaking to us in Advent: “Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste and smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments and life itself is grace.” (Frederick Buechner)

Grace came down and dwelt among us at Christmas and His name is Immanuel, God with us. And in this Advent, it is God with us who sustains us and spreads hope and light and love and promise into our lives.

This will be a Christmas like no other.

                                                                     

From one moment to the next, the journey is altered.

From the expected path to the sudden detour,
       from the smooth flow of everyday living to the jagged upheaval of a life interrupted,
             from the easy assumption of the future to the hard reality of mortality,
we have had our steps diverted into a path unknown, a path unsought, a path unwelcome.

But, a path known to our God, allowed through His loving hands,
                                  and therefore to be accepted and used to His glory.

One day, we wake up and drink our coffee and read the paper and have our breakfast and morning devotions and life is ordinary. Oh, there is a doctor’s appointment later in the day, but it is routine, a follow up for some minor surgery that Bob had, welcome in that we hope there will be some solution for lingering nausea that has persisted this past week. 

We go in prepared to hear that all is well, all is as it should be from the surgery.
But the words are different than we expect.
       The words are hard to understand…..biopsy, malignancy, stage 4, life threatening.

We hear the words with our ears but they slide away almost uncomprehended... familiar words but without meaning when applied to Bob, my healthy, 3 mile a day walking, all normal physical check-up history, regular gym work-outs husband. Questions are asked, answers given, but there is little emotional impact, not yet. We hold it out, away from our inner selves, as if we can choose not to receive it, like an unwanted gift.

Later, as I examine these ugly words, as they begin to take on substance, I think, “Life as we know it is now over. Today marks the dividing line between what was and what is.”

The journey has moved us into unknown terrain and nothing will ever be the same.
Unlike the journeys we have chosen for ourselves, this journey can not be meticulously planned on Trip Advisor, searched for the most scenic views, the most unique experiences, the best places to stay and eat. This is a step onto an unmarked path, a trip whose duration and topography is a mystery, and each curve may reveal a new roadblock, a new detour, a new stretch of rocky surface or even new scenery to bring respite to our souls.

But, the author and perfector of our lives is still in control. He is aware of all that we will face in this journey, and has already gone ahead of us to make provision for all that we will need. He knows the way that we take, and when we are finished, we shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10)

Not by our power, not for our glory, but because of the cross and because of the resurrection and because the gospel is true.

Only because Jesus is the way in the journey, and Jesus is the strength for the journey and Jesus is the destination of the journey and the glory of Jesus is the reason for the journey can we even rise up from the blow and stagger forward.

And we know that, in the very act of journeying, we are also dwelling between his shoulders, and He is carrying us. We journey, but we are at home. We stumble, but we are carried. Such is the mystery of being a child of God.

So, as we take these faltering steps into a journey unknown, we ask you, our friends who have shared our journey so far, to go with us ,as you are able.
To pray us through this,
          to love us,
              to let us be honest and real with you when we need someone to cry with us,
                          to rejoice with us in the good moments that we will have,
                                   to share laughter with us,
                                            and to just be present in the journey.

What we need most, along with your prayers, is for you to be present with us,
"Jesus with skin on” as a little girl once expressed it.

How much or how little I will share here, I don’t yet know, but the purpose of this blog is to tell of dwelling in the journey. Of finding a way of being at home in the Lord while we travel an unknown path to an unknown place, and to hopefully encourage someone else as we go.

  “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.“ Deuteronomy 31:8