We
Celebrate Advent
"How
proper it is that Christmas should follow Advent. For him who looks
toward the future, the manger is situated on Golgotha, and the cross
has already been raised in Bethlehem."
--Dag Hammarskjold
Covenant
Church celebrates Advent. We decorate the building, sing the songs,
gather for special food and treats, and work hard to celebrate the
great redemptive act of God – the Incarnation and birth of Jesus.
We
treat Advent as a season of preparation. For centuries Christians
have devoted the month prior to Christmas day as a season to prepare
their hearts and homes for the great festival,
the celebration of Christ’s incarnation.
We
busy ourselves with a good bit of bustling about between Thanksgiving
and Christmas – we shop, compile guest lists, mail cards, decorate
our homes, prepare our favorite foods, and host or attend parties.
All that is a part of the celebration. Yet all those things can
become traps and ends in themselves if we are not careful.
Is
that the kind of preparation to which Advent calls? Traditionally,
that is, for most of Christian history, Advent has been a time of
quiet introspection, personal examination, and repentance – a
season of fasting, prayer, confession, and reconciliation. All the
great Advent stories, hymns, customs, and rituals point to those
practices as the best means of preparation.
Celebrating
Advent is a tradition at Covenant Church. We see that as a good
thing. We try to make the things we do to the glory of Christ.
Edith
Schaeffer spent her entire adult life cultivating community and
hospitality at L'Abri Fellowship in Huemoz, Switzerland. She
emphasized the importance of building traditions as an integral part
of family and community:
“There
is something about saying, ‘We always do this,’ which helps keep
the years together. Time is such an elusive thing that if we keep on
meaning to do something interesting, but never do it, year would
follow year with no special thoughtfulness being expressed in making
gifts, surprises, charming table settings, and familiar, favorite
food. Tradition is a good gift intended to guard the best gifts.”
Edith Schaeffer.
(Inspired
by “The Whip of Advent” in Grantian
Florilegium, November 29, 2008)
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