(Guest homily by Malcolm Heath)
This is the first Sunday of Advent, and I found myself
wondering, as this day approached, what this season of the church means.
The other seasons of the church, I feel like I have a pretty
good idea what they’re about. Easter is
of course pretty clear. Pentecost,
perhaps less so, but I still have some idea.
But I found that when I thought about Advent, I came up with
very little.
When I was a child, we used to celebrate Advent in my
home. We had candles, and a wreath, and
a little book of readings, and each Sunday we’d light a new candle, and do a
little service, and as I recall, this was somehow combined in my mind with opening
the panels of an Advent calendar. I have
since learned that some of these have a little treat for each day. The calendars of my youth didn’t – just a
little picture for each day.
What I got out of this was mainly that Christmas was
coming. Of course, in a child’s mind,
this wasn’t connected to the idea of God becoming Man, the Incarnation, the
Word becoming Flesh. Instead, it was a
simple countdown to a big meal, and presents.
I don’t think my conception of Advent has really moved much
past that in the intervening years.
This year, however, has been a bit different for me. My wife and I have gotten all of our shopping
done already. I don’t have any really
major things to accomplish before the big day.
I have the time to think about it, which is a pretty amazing situation,
and very unusual.
I’ve got a lot of time to just do nothing.
But then, as I thought more, it occurred to me that the idea
of waiting is central to Advent.
But why have this season of waiting? And what is it that we are waiting for? People talk about “preparation” which makes
it seem like we should be doing something, like we should be dusting and
vacuuming, that we should be putting out trays of food in preparation for the
arrival of an important guest. But I don’t think that’s it.
What I think this season is for is to realize something
really simple. It’s making space for the
realization that there’s something missing, and that we don’t, and can’t, know
what we’re waiting for.
It’s easy to ignore the things in our lives that aren’t
actually there. We have lots to do, more
immediate needs to deal with, and even when we have all that we need in terms
of necessities, we can still find plenty to do to avoid thinking about things
we’re lacking. So, it’s actually kind of
difficult to have the time, and space, much less the motivation, to really sit
down and ask ourselves what we’re missing.
So this Advent-tide, let me ask you all a question. What’s missing in your lives? What do you lack in your heart? Do you have that feeling like there may be
something that you can’t quite put your finger on? Something that despite perhaps having all you
might need or require, and having a high degree of confidence that if only you
could figure out what this certain something is, you could possibly find it, or
make it, or buy it at a mall, that nevertheless, you know that you won’t be
able to find it there? That it’s beyond
your abilities somehow?
Because it’s that feeling that I think Advent is about. That need.
Without that need, I think, Jesus is just another
prophet. A wise man with some
interesting things to say. And those
have been a dime a dozen over the millennia, and that’s hardly worth writing
home about.
Without that need, that understanding of lack in our hearts,
Jesus is just a man, and he’s just another poor kid who was born out of wedlock
to poor parents, a very long time ago.
Without that need, that understanding that this is not
something we can do for ourselves…there really isn’t any place for him to
come. Nowhere to lay his head. No room at the inn.
Now, I’m not sure if this is what Advent is. But it seems to me like it might have
something to do with it.
