As I write this we are still en route to Thanksgiving – only 6 3/4 hours of driving time to go, in addition to potty breaks, supper stop, etc. Currently we are driving through part of the Appalachian Mountains where you expect curvy roads, tree covered mountains, and an occasional beautiful valley. A couple of times we’ve come to unexpected mountain tunnels, but the most unexpected event was when we saw good friends from home at a rest stop three states away!! They were on their way to see family in another state and we just happened to be at the same rest stop at the same time. Now THAT was a surprise!!
By the time we arrive at our destination late tonight I expect our family will be tired of being cooped up in a minivan and ready to stretch the legs and not have to go anywhere for a few days. Our plan is to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday and then Christmas on Friday, as this will be the only time these families from three different states will be together this season. I expect that with sixteen people staying in the same home for pieces of four days, there will be a lot of lovely family time — and I expect some opportunities to practice patience as we await the use of a bathroom.
Very shortly the Thanksgiving holiday will fade quickly into Black Friday and the Christmas Season. The world expects the next few weeks to be filled with shopping, cooking, parties, get-togethers, charity, romance, movies, winter festivals, concerts, decorations, and a plethora of other things that have almost or absolutely nothing to do with the real story of Christmas. Many, many Christians have similar expectations. However, in at least parts of the Christian Church, the spiritual season of Advent helps us approach Christmas in a different spirit.
In these churches and families the season of Advent begins the Christian year with a four-week season of self reflection, penitence, and spiritual preparation for Christmas and for the second coming of Christ. In contrast to the world’s obsessions with worldly “celebrations,” Advent is a slower, gentler and introspective approach to Christmas. The four Sundays of Advent focus on love, joy, hope, and peace. In a world frenzied and frantic with a plethora of other things, one of the gifts of focusing on God’s love, joy, hope, and peace is we don’t have to be frenzied or frantic. Our expectations of Christmas are colored by our preparations for it. When we expect frantic and frenzied, our expectations are generally met. And when we focus our expectations on love, joy, hope, and peace – when we focus ourselves on the coming of Christ – our whole experience of the season changes.
God has ways of surprising us and our expectations. When the angel Gabriel came to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, she and her people had been waiting over four hundred years for the promised Messiah to appear. When Jesus began his public ministry he didn’t meet anyone’s expectations of what Messiah – the Christ – would be like. People like Judas Iscariot expected the Messiah to be a political savior who rescued the Jewish people from the tyranny of the Roman Empire. His misplaced expectations did not serve him well.
May our expectations of the next few weeks be realistic. May the love, joy, peace, and hope of these weeks be rooted deeply within us so we are not caught in the frantic and frenzy of the world. And may our expectations of our Messiah be based on who he really is. Maranatha….Lord Jesus, Come. Amen.
Mary sang, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.” (Luke 1:46-55 NIV)
