Advent is one of my favourite times of the year.
The traditional interpretation is that it celebrates the themes of Peace, Hope, Love and Joy which are all manifested on earth in the birth of the Christ. Whether one feels an affinity for the religious significance, or not, we are all longing for more of those qualities. What speaks to me most deeply, though, is that it is a season of waiting, and of preparation.
Anticipation is one of my favourite emotion words. I love having something to look forward to, something that I know will happen or will come to me at a given time. Often, I find the anticipation of the thing even better than the realization of what I was anticipating.
Being someone who also loves “doing stuff”, I also like preparation. Whether it’s getting my home clean and tidy before putting up decorations, or baking certain once-a-year cookies, or planning the holiday meal, preparation is the perfection combination of anticipation and accomplishment.
But the theme that is most resonant with me this year is “waiting”.
As anyone who has been pregnant or has loved someone who was or is pregnant, there is a very particular kind of waiting that is part of the arrival of a baby.
From the moment of willing conception, a woman becomes a participant in a process that has its own mysterious timetable. At no time is this more apparent than in the final weeks of pregnancy. The mother’s body is increasingly fatigued by the demands the new life is making, even while also preparing for the monumental effort of giving birth. There are active processes unfolding in her physical being, even while there is little she can do to hasten the birth.
Advent invites us into a similar kind of waiting. While we observe the season based on calendar dates, the significance of season is rooted in waiting for the unfolding of mystery.
Unfortunately, the church establishment has taken a lot of the sense of mystery out of this time of year. It has emphasized the celebration of the Christ’s birth on a particular date on the calendar, and taught us exactly what the significance of that birth was. It often feels like, in the church setting, we’re commemorating something completed.
There is also a sense, though, in which we’re awaiting something we don’t fully understand, something that hasn’t fully arrived, something that isn’t complete. The Christ was born to show us humans how to live as Love. That is an ongoing process, something that isn’t fully realized, something we still long for.
Every religion has a feast or celebration of “light” around this time of year. Those of us in the northern hemisphere are feeling the increasingly shorter days, and longer periods of night. We long for physical light, and the celebration of Solstice on December 21 is the celebration of the turning point toward increasing light.
Regardless of where we stand on the religious significance of this time of year, the season of Advent can be an invitation into paying attention to our relationship with waiting. What are the hopes we hold for the world around us, whether it be the small community within our homes, or any one of the larger concentric circles of “world” beyond us? How do we want to see Light increase, both within ourselves, and in our society?
The twin themes of waiting and preparation help me significantly as the external markers of the holiday season increase my sense of “gotta get stuff done”. The preparation of Advent is about making space for the arrival of mystery, not about lists and chores. This kind of preparation invites me to slow down, to take time to notice what’s moving in my inner being, to allow room for all I don’t know and can’t see yet. The waiting isn’t passive. It invites me to be aware of my deepest desires, and to keep watch for signs that they are beginning to appear.
How does it feel to you to think about the coming days as waiting time, as quiet preparation time? How would you like to experience greater awareness of your own inner Light? How would you like to see Light spread in the world around us?
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