Advent Is Coming! And There It Goes...

Happy (liturgical) new year! For those of you, dear readers, who come from less liturgically focused traditions, the season of Advent encompasses the four Sundays before Christmas and prompts us to prepare for Christ's coming as a baby into our world. It's officially the start of the next yearly rotation of liturgical seasons. And I find this season fascinating, because it's both the beginning and the end. It prepares us for Christmas, specifically to recognize that when Christ arrived bodily into this world, he was both the savior (big responsibility) and a defenseless, helpless infant (itty bitty operating capacity).

But Advent also points to the end. And yeah, I mean like that crazy guy on the corner with 'the end is near' on a sandwich board, end of the world type stuff. Advent also prompts us to prepare ourselves and be vigilant for that. Like the story of the ten bridesmaids in Matthew's gospel, we don't know when Christ will come into this world again, so we need to keep alert. And Advent helps us with that, but for me it's also a reminder that the encounter with Christ changes everything. Christ as a baby changes everything. Christ will come again with angels and loud trumpet calls and everything will change.

Did I mention that I'm fascinated by Advent? But I'm also really bad at it. I'm not usually in the groove of Advent until the third or fourth Sunday. And then it's basically over and we've got twelve days for the Christmas celebration. Yay! And I'm that jerk who will insist on saying "Happy Advent" while everyone else is fighting about "Merry Christmas," but I'll start saying "Merry Christmas" on the 25th of December and I'll keep saying it until the 6th of January, while everyone else is like "what is this guy doing? Christmas is over..."

So that's (probably) the end of the didactic part of today's blog...

"Merry Christmas!" or, A Reflection on Meaning in Five Hashtags

I'm so glad that I have the time and energy to be writing on Christmas Day! I woke up this morning at my in-laws home in central Minnesota, after going to church and opening presents last night. At the end of a very tumultuous Advent, I am incredibly thankful for this Christmas Day... and to make up for my lack of focus during the Advent season, I am hoping that I might be able to make the most of the 12 day Christmas festival!

Anyway, my reason for writing today has more to do with the fact that I woke up and hit the Twittersphere to see what's out there. And I've found a few pretty awesome movements that I would like to share with you, my dear reader. There are also a couple of things that I found which I thought were quite curious. But as I'm looking over everything, I realize that it's always useful to ask that question: "What does this Christmas thing mean?"

1. #AdventWord
The first is from the Society of St. John the Evangelist (@SSJEWord)

Pray over image & #word #Receive. Share your photo @ #AdventWord. See Global #AdventCalendar http://t.co/rNx0Pqk13u pic.twitter.com/axjafA0oGb
— Advent Word (@AdventWord) December 24, 2014

At the Time of My Grandmother's Passing, or, the Kingdom of God Comes Near

My grandmother and I visiting my grandfather's
gravesite on Memorial Day 2014

My grandmother, Patricia Mary Monson, passed away last week on Thursday, December 11. She was buried on Wednesday the 17th. For me, it's an odd sensation because I had lived in her house for almost ten years and after that she was simply a constant presence throughout my life. I've noticed in retrospect that I've just kind of had this child-like sense that she would always be there, like some kind of indomitable force that would keep organizing parties and feed anyone who might walk in the door.

I've been really frustrated because, even though my family knew that Grandma was fading, it's still really hard when someone so special dies. The fact that we're so close to Christmas doesn't help that, either. For my part, I've been trying to reconcile this season of Advent (waiting for the coming of the Savior) with the sense of mourning and loss from my grandmother.

Now, I need to state that this blog post is not meant to be an obituary or a eulogy or anything else. It is just something that I think I need to do. After all, some of you, dear readers, will know that this post is me breaking radio silence in the blogosphere. I am doing this just because I need an opportunity to write out my thoughts and feelings at the passing of my grandmother. And here, at the time of her passing, there are two sets of stories that I want to share.

Preparation and Patience

I'm back on my Blogger account this morning and I'm realizing how long I've taken between posts... if anyone has suggestions of how I can make myself keep more regularity in this, I'd be all ears. Regardless, we are in the third week of Advent, the season where we prepare for the birth of the Christ Child. I was helping out with my parish youth group last night and our youth pastor read a selection from a devotional that gave rise to this:

"The time has come! The kingdom of God has come near! Repent. And believe the good news!"
-Mark 1:15 (with slight alteration of punctuation and emphasis)

The first and second weeks of Advent are busy and filled with excited preparation. There are greens to put up, wreaths to be made, cookies that need frosting.

Lessons and carols is being rehearsed, making sure that everyone knows what they're supposed to do so that there can be a good show for those who come visiting.

And amid all of this, when Christmas day is nearly upon us, suddenly we are told to have patience, to slow down, refocus on the Christ candle and remember that this season is for us to prepare ourselves for the in-breaking of God to our world. It's a strange thing in the third week of Advent, that lighting of the rose candle.

I mean, throughout Advent, up until this point, we have been reading about this incredible messianic Servant in Isaiah and we've been looking at the travelling magi. John's gospel has been read right there at the end of the Lessons and Carols liturgy, serving as another prophetic voice, telling us what is to come. And from this, there are so many things that so many people want God to be in their lives.

And yet Christ comes in as a baby. A little infant, soft and vulnerable. It's definitely not the king or judge that is usually spoken of in reference to the Lord Almighty.

My point here is that, no matter how much we prepare for the King, he will always come unexpectedly and in a way that we thought impossible. And we need to be patient with ourselves so that we can respond to the movement of Christ, no matter where (or how) we find him.