1st Sunday of Advent, “Cram Faith in or Live it?”
1st Sunday of Advent, “Cram Faith in or Live it?”
“Prepare ye the way of the Lord!” We hear this command of John the Baptist during the Advent Season. How do we prepare?
One way of preparing is the way most of the American population will live during December. Probably it will revolve around things like decorating. We put up plastic blow up figures in our yard of elves, Santa, superheroes, etc. We hope the wind does not flatten them in puddles of plastic. Or, preparing the way of the Lord will be about throwing the most impressive party on the block with the widest selection of craft beers. And then, there is all the shopping. Now these things are fun, but we know there must be more to this month.
An alternative way of preparing would to be as quiet and reflective as possible. Or, to try to reconcile with those who we are at odds with at the present time whether that be God or our neighbor. No matter what our theories of preparation are, we know that it is good to be ready for important events in our life. For some there are other December activities.
Many of us were college students at one time. Students, of course, are now finishing their final exams. Semester exam time is a stressful period. I was a student. I was also a Newman chaplain at two universities. I always found it interesting how students prepared for their finals.
One methodology was to pull all-nighters during the days of finals. Some students would not sleep for two or three nights in a row. If they ate it was usually fast food. If they drank it was usually something that was high in caffeine. Many times, they would drink liters of pop like Mountain Dew or Jolt. Another thing I noticed was that there was little time for hygiene which led to an interesting aroma in the library as notes were memorized, papers were written, tests were studied for. Of course, this was called cramming. For some students this seemed to work. But I often wondered how much of the information students studied was retained. Certainly, it was not good for anyone’s health.
Another way of preparing was the slow and steady method. Now this meant that the student went to all the assigned class times. All the prescribed books were read over the course of the term. Papers were turned in on time. Notes were reviewed and edited every day. When the time of the exam approached information was reviewed that had already been learned. When the exam came, the students who were of the slow and steady variety usually were alert in class, they were not at any mental health risk.
If a student who crammed got a good grade, they were pleasantly surprised, maybe they were even relieved that they had beat the odds. The students who had remained constant in the preparation usually got the results they had expected.
The Spiritual question we are challenged with on the first Sunday of Advent is not how do we prepare for the Christmas party, but how do we prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus? For most of us, the question is not even relevant. God is not even a consideration. If we do worry about it, quite often the thought is that the second coming of Jesus at the end of time is a long way off. If a we think about our own personal reckoning with Christ, it is usually thought of in terms of what will happen when we die. And unless we are seriously ill that is something we do not want to think about because it makes us uncomfortable. The way to handle the issue is to be distracted; by working hard, eating a lot, by amusing ourselves with screen time. We don’t prepare to encounter God. We distract ourselves from thinking about it.
Advent’s message is that this is not the way to live life. The ironic part of this time of year is that at the very time we are encouraged to be self-absorbed by every type of advertisement we are also asked to break away from our narcissism.
We might ask the question, how do I feel; when all the presents are open, all the eggnog has been consumed, all the vacation time has been used up? Do I feel joyful and fulfilled? If we are honest, we probably say no. Maybe we need to look at these four weeks in a different way. Let’s not try to cram in the spiritual dimension on Christmas Eve. But maybe we might try to address the spiritual dimension throughout the four weeks of Advent.
We are gathered here today as spiritual seekers. If we are slowly, steadily, hungering for an ever-deeper relationship with the Lord then we need not distract ourselves from ultimate questions. We are interested in them. We become ever more comfortable swimming in the mystery of the God. We come to understand in our gut that God only wants to love us and be loved by us. We learn to welcome God into our life and rejoice, that the Lord is near.
Please note: rough draft, grammar may not be perfect.