"Just as we clean and decorate our homes, let us clean and decorate and prepare our hearts for the most important guest we will ever receive."
About three years ago a woman came up to me on the first Sunday of Advent and said, "Brad, I want to sing Christmas carols. It's the season now, the radio and TV are doing it, why don't we sing carols in church?" I didn't know quite what to say and I responded with something like, "Well, it's Advent, and that's the way it is in the church; we've been doing it for centuries." It wasn't a very good answer, of course, and the woman responded, "Well, I want lots of Christmas, so for the next four weeks I'm going to a church that sings Christmas carols...I'll see you on Christmas Eve!" And sure enough, off she went to a church which does not understand or celebrate the season we know as Advent.
Her question and concern forced me to think a bit deeper about this holy season in our church year. Why do we "hold off" Christmas in the church for four weeks, while all the world around us is singing and celebrating?
It turns out that my rather unresponsive answer to this parishioner's dilemma was perhaps a good one after all. "That's the way we've been doing it for centuries," is indeed the truth. Because the nativity, the birth of Jesus as the Son of God in this world, has been and continues to be, such a powerful and theologically significant event, we need to prepare for it.
To dive headfirst into the birthday of Jesus is to miss the importance of all that went on in preparation for his arrival. For example, the ministry of John the Baptist, the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus and whose great hymn encourages us to prepare:
"On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry
announces that the Lord is nigh...
And let each heart prepare a home
where such a mighty guest may come."
Without Advent we would miss the stories of the preparation of the holy family as they awaited the birth, the prophecy to Zachariah about John's birth, the close kinship of two pregnant cousins, Elizabeth and Mary, and the annunciation, when the angel Gabriel flew into Mary's heart with some very good news indeed.
I don't know about you, but I'm the kind of person who needs to prepare for big events. I really enjoy my time of expectation and waiting for something good about to happen. I'm one of those people who can spend six months preparing for a six-week trip. I like to read about where I'm going, browse through guidebooks and chart my path on maps spread all over the dining room table.
I would be embarrassed to tell you how many guide and history books I read in preparation for my trip to Spain last summer. In fact, that preparation was easily half of the enjoyment I received from my trip and it made my journey doubly pleasant and rewarding. I think that's the way it must be for us as we truly celebrate Advent in preparation for the Nativity of Jesus. Just as lent prepares us for the joy of the Easter Resurrection (note: we do not sing Easter hymns during Lent), so Advent prepares us for a deeper understanding of the Holy Birth of the Christ Child.
So to my good friend who needs to sing carols, I would say, "You can do both." At one level the Christmas holiday season is upon us. The barrier of Thanksgiving is breached. The malls and stores are stocked; parties are schedules; holiday music fills the airways, and that is wonderful. I enjoy it all as much as anyone.
And along with all the secular Christmas holiday activities, we can also keep a holy Advent as we prepare ourselves for the spiritual side of Christmas yet to come--the Birth of Jesus.
This is the Gift we will offer you in this church, for that is what the church has done for centuries--allowing us the opportunity to spiritually prepare ourselves for Christmas. Advent preparation is not limited to the church. There are traditional home ceremonies to assist us, like Advent Calendars which help children (and adults) to count down the days to December 25, Advent wreaths which mark the four weeks of Advent with lighting of candles, prayers and, within the church, a liberal use of violet and purple, which as liturgical colors remind us of this Holy Season.
So from this day and for the next four weeks, let's prepare. Just as we will clean and decorate our homes for guests at our party, let us clean and decorate and prepare our hearts for the most important guest we will ever receive--Jesus Christ--our Lord and Savior. As an Advent hymn says so well,
"Then cleansed be every breast from sin,
Make straight the way for God within,
And let each heart prepare a home
Where such a mighty guest may come."
Amen.
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