Reflections on Advent

I love this video for the reminder that Advent is a time that is purposely different from Christmas. This week it seemed that as December 1^st hit, the world exploded with Christmas. Most people I know spent this weekend putting up Christmas trees and decorating the house – my family included! And while preparing our homes for Christmas is part of what Advent is about, Advent is really more slowly moving toward Christmas, rather than rushing as fast as we can to the big day!  It’s like our Advent wreath where we light one new candle each week.  Every Sunday the light from our wreath gets brighter and brighter beginning with the first candle lit today, and adding for the next 4 weeks.

Slowly the light grows as we move closer to Christmas.  Slowly we prepare our homes and ourselves as we continue to wait for Christmas.  

It’s like our video just said, if you’re sick of Christmas by December 25^th, you’re doing Advent wrong!

We are all tremendously excited for Christmas; it is a time that adults and children alike all love. And in our world of instant gratification, it’s hard to remember there’s more joy found when we delay fulfilment.  Letting the suspense build brings even brighter moments of joy. Slowly building toward the whole Christmas day event is more incredible than racing right into December 25^th.   

Advent is an important journey on the way to Christmas.  Advent is a time of expectant waiting, hopeful anticipation, and joyful preparation for God who comes into our lives and hearts in all moments and all places and in all times. If we fill our lives so full of Christmas now, we won’t have room in our hearts and lives for God to fit in; if we fill ourselves with Christmas in Advent, we will miss that hope, peace, joy, and love that God offers us right now.

In December time is already a precious commodity however today I am going to encourage you to add something more to your lives this month, I hope you’ll consider adding more room in your life this Advent.  There are many pulls on our time this season – cleaning, decorating, shopping, attending events, and so on.  However, I ask you to add more room today, because adding room for God in Advent is more important than having a house beautifully decorating, Christmas cards filled out and mailed, and presents wrapped under the tree. If you have no room for God in your life, where will Jesus fit in when he comes in a fit of wonder on Christmas day?

Making room right now may seem overwhelming, but we all make time for that which we value.  So start by considering what you love to do. Is your passion reading, is it colouring, is it knitting, is it silence, it is photography? Take your passion and find a way to let God into your life this Advent.  Create room for God by using one of the many ways to explore advent this December.  We have many available here today for you, but a simple google search will show you so many more.

We have a daily calendar to available with acts you can do each day to stay connected to the season and to God, there is a booklet with a daily scripture reading and a short reflection on the few verses, we have a daily photo challenge on Facebook to help see reminders of God within each day, and there is the package each family got to help mark each week with a candle and reflection, and each and every Sunday we gather here again to make time for God in our week.  This season, find a way to make room for God be it through prayer, through serving the world, in bringing patience and hope, or nurturing your relationship with God, just make some room however you can.

This Advent just a few moments each day are all we need to make room for God as we journey through the season of Advent, slowly preparing our homes, as well as our lives for Jesus Christ to be born into our hearts and our souls. Our challenge this Advent is to create the space so there is room for Jesus Christ when he arrives renewed for each of us on the blessed Christmas morn.

May each of us take some time this Advent to hold room in our preparations of expectant waiting, hopeful anticipation, and joyful preparation for God coming into our lives and hearts in all moments and all places and in all times. How will you make room?

Remember Advent isn’t about shopping, stressing, planning, or buying – no matter how much our world tells us otherwise. 

This morning we are here to remember that Advent is a special time, for it is about expecting, waiting, hoping, and praying; as we walk together toward Christmas with God.

Amen.