Christmas

It seems that I only get one post per season of the Church lately. I've been wondering for some time why theological schools require students to take finals in the midst of, dare I say, the most important season of our church year. Adventing our lives, preparing the way of the Lord...and what are seminarians doing? Running around trying to meet with study groups, taking final exams, putting the finishing touches on projects, and wrapping up final papers. This little inconsistency is something that has perplexed me for some time. The Church tells us to throw away the fetters of the secular season, to put the Christ back in Christmas, and all the while forcing the future leaders of the Church to turn their own lives into a shopping mall, jumping over the obstacles that make for a hurried season instead of one focused on deepening our lives with Christ. What would the spiritual lives of seminarians look like during Advent if seminaries were to change their academic calendars? How would the development of future leaders be enriched? How would our congregations benefit from leaders that are able to model a deeper liturgical spirituality?

Advent our lives

During this season of Advent, my congregation has been focusing on the theme of "pondering." (Bet you couldn't tell I had a hand in that one!). Something that sticks out for me in this part of the Christian Year is found in the benediction we've been using each week:

"Advent your life!" it tells us, "wait and wait and wait."

In this season, cluttered with secular calls for spending, keeping up with the Jonses', and gorging on food and drink, I like the idea of Adventing our lives: that in this season we need to get past all the gawdy decor in our souls, forget about the upper limits of how we spend our love, and see the face of God in the most unusual of places. This is true incarnation - this is true love of all the world - this is the spirit of the season.