Living Advent!

When I was a pastor at Lindenwood Church in Memphis, one of my favorite services of worship was our Christmas Eve Candlelight service. I think the best part of the service was actually the beginning, as the alto began singing the strains from “Once in David’s Royal City.” Chills went down my spine as with candles in hand, the clergy processed in to their places at the lectern where we would read – out of the King James, of course! – the prophecies from the Old Testament concerning his birth leading into the stories of the birth itself. There in the quiet midnight candlelight, if one paid close attention, one truly would actually catch a vision of the holy family, surrounded by onlooking animals and shepherds and wisemen bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrhh.

Christmas is the most “magical” of the Christian holidays and feast days. My seven year-old son, Will, began making his Christmas list in August which also marks the time in our family where we begin the weekly mini-sermons at home about how it is better to give than to receive!

But if we take a look through the passages in the Bible which deal directly with the “infancy narrative” of Jesus, it becomes quickly evident that the season of Christmas is “magical” for reasons other than the giving and receiving of presents. If we pay close attention to what people were saying about Jesus’s birth, we are given clues not just to the power of a season of the year – but clues about the power of life itself.

Consider, for instance, the songs that are sung by an assortment of characters in the gospels at the time of Jesus’s birth. Zechariah sings at the birth of his son John the Baptist who will usher in Jesus’s new reign. Mary, the mother of Jesus, sings what has come to be known as the Magnificat – a song of rejoicing over Jesus’s ministry to the poor and oppressed peoples of the world. The angels sing that God’s peace and favor have been poured out. And then there’s the prophet Simeon. Simeon has been waiting his entire life to experience the fulfillment of prophecy concerning the Messiah. When the baby Jesus is brought to the temple to be dedicated, Simeon sings, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

Therein lies the power of Christmas. Through the “advent,” or the coming of Jesus, we are witness to the bringing of God’s salvation to all of humankind.

The peace activist Gandhi was once asked what he thought of Christianity. His reply was that it would be wonderful – wonderful, if people actually lived like Jesus.

To go through the season of Christmas and not be formed and transformed into the likeness of Christ would be a shame. If the season really is about liberation of the oppressed, seeing a new light, and recognizing the powerful incarnation of God – it gives our practice of singing carols and giving gifts entirely new meaning. In fact, the season becomes a time for practicing self-sacrificing love like we’ve never practiced it before.

Why do we need a season to live like this? Why not? Like we might spend a month of our lives going on a diet, or exercising extra hard to lose that extra couple of pounds – Christians can view Christmas as a season of “honing” their skills in the area of sacrificial loving as they spend time with loved ones or deliver food baskets or make visit someone (anyone, really!) who is spending their Christmas in a hospital.

What might happen as a result of this? Who knows? The season of God’s salvation and light and giving might just become a spiritual resource for the rest of the year. Perhaps even for the rest of our lives.