Advent Thoughts…
When we prep for Advent, we can look at it in a number of different ways;
We can look at it through the “theological” lens- Advent is a time for waiting for Jesus to be born, the birth of the Messiah… “we wait in anticipation”, “we wait in hope”, etc. We can talk about our Advent journey. But the thing is, most of us aren’t on an Advent journey. Most of us “waiting with anticipation” for the birth of the messiah. Our lives stay pretty much the same. And by that I mean full! Busy! We look for those moments of quiet and peace between all the things we do. Our vacations aren’t long enough, we don’t get enough sleep, the days are too long. And we take those moments of peace and quiet wherever and when ever we find them.
We can look at this season from an historic point of view;
We can ask the question, what must it have felt like to be alive back then? What must it have felt like to be waiting for the messiah? And what would we have been expecting with relation to a messiah? Why would we have needed a messiah? We can talk about what a messiah meant in the Judaism of two thousand years ago as compared to what it means to Christians of today. But ultimately these are historic and theological exercises that in general are not necessarily related to people’s lives today.
Sure this can be interesting, for some more than for others perhaps. But for many, this is so removed from the average persons life. And it may be one contributing factor in the decline of the mainline denominations across the
So we have to ask ourselves- How does this idea or theme of Advent relate to us?
Let’s look at a few things related to Advent that we can actually work on… let’s look at this as an Advent discipline. You know, like some people practice Lenten disciplines, let’s see if this season can help us like that.
How good are you at being patient?
How good are you at waiting?
You know, when the delivery person, the one who’s scheduled to bring your new ___ (insert appliance here)____ and they call you a few days before, asking if you’ll be there… standing by… waiting… they expect you to just hang around waiting for them, as if you have nothing else to do but sit at home watching Oprah - and they give you a “time frame”… “We’ll be there some time between 9AM and March!” Like this is supposed to help you. “Yep, I’ll be there, just waiting for you – take your time… April is clear, if that helps?” Take your time… I HAVE NOTHING TO DO!!!! BUT WAIT… FOR YOU!!! (Sound like Sam Kinneson? Remember him?)
We’ll wait more easily with some toy… like the i-pod, the i-pad, or i-book, or a regular book, or magazine, or a gameboy, or whatever our cool toy of the year is. But just being patient, with nothing else, that we have a hard time doing well. And I say this as a radio junkie. Or waiting in offices, I have to have something to read.
We can wait with anticipation… and it looks like this - “HURRY UP!”
Or we can wait… and get bored, very easily! Anyone have teenagers? “I’m bored.” Heard that before?
But can we wait… with a sense of peace? With a sense of calm? With a core of what the Buddhists call “mindfulness”? Waiting with our whole hearts and minds, and bodies, and spirits? Can we wait, fully engaged in the moment?
Engaged in what? Well for this Advent season… this week… when you’re waiting… for something… the delivery guy, or whatever… wait with as much of you as you can. Bring your heart and mind and body back in one place at one time.
Take a deep breath… (I’ll wait). Pull your mind and heart back together.
Inhale… and exhale… relax. With each breath, find your core, your center, and allow it to expand as you breathe.
D.T. Suzuki, many decades ago helped to bring Zen Buddhism to the
It’s about eating… or whatever you’re doing, or not doing… but being fully present as you are there – with as much of you as possible in one place at one time.
Can we be patient like that? You know what another name for this is? Worship!
This week… as you find yourself waiting… take a few moments to breathe! Find your center… pull yourself back together… and worship- with all your heart and mind and body. Practice patience!
Happy practicing!
Pr. C-
3 comments:
I like your sentiment.(But then I always like what you have to say, Chad). Most of us would be better off by slowing down and not being in such a rush, especially this time of year. I'm just not too crazy about this Advent thing: the idea of anticipation, of waiting for something, patiently or not, that is really good.
Have you ever noticed that those people who are very relaxed, so at peace, yet they are engaged in more tasks and activities than you or I would ever consider taking on? They don't look busy, but they sure are, relatively speaking. And somehow they do everything well and seem to enjoy it in the process. I'm sure it has something to do with balance, but it's not always about balancing time.
I think a lot of Christians are still anxiously waiting for the Messiah to come, either at their time of death or, for many, at the end of time. I know that for a lot of people this idea of Jesus coming back for them is comforting, but I wonder if this kind of anticipation is done in place of some kind of kind of 'doing' - a doing that might really be worth doing, instead of waiting, something that just might have them living in that moment you speak of. For a change.
The person who is patiently 'waiting' for his IPad to arrive or for the nurse to call his name can do so peacefully because he has, at least temporarily, forgotten what he is waiting for. There is no anticipation.
I'm not sure if the Zen practitioner would suggest 'waiting' for anything. Just 'being'. I sort of think that is what a lot of Jesus' message was all about: "What in heaven are you waiting for? Do something!"
Though occasionally it is nice to sit outside by the fire with bourbon and a cigar.
This reminds me of the movie "Click" starring Adam Sandler. In the movie, he gets a magic remote control that allows him to fast forward through the waiting and boring parts of his life.
"Adam" learns that much of life is waiting, and it only seems boring when he is constantly anticipating future events. But, at the end of his life, he learns about "being" in those moments.
In my life, I have trouble finding peace because I'm always worried about the next big event. I find myself thinking: "If I could just get the plumbing fixed... and the windows... and save up money... and a bunch of other things, I would be able to rest!"
So, I am trying this "being" thing. I like that term better than "waiting." The word "being" has more of a life reflection and observational tone to it. And some of my happiest memories are of being lazy and watching the world go by.
Rob S.
I like the word "being" too! Be patient and "be" as the world goes by... no rush, no judgment, no anxiety. Bourbon and cigar if you want. You guys are good! Thanks!
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