Unexpected and Mysterious: An Advent Reflection from Bishop Macholz
On my way home from the Buffalo area earlier this week I stopped at my local Home Depot to pick up three items needed for home. As I walked in the door I noticed that lining the aisles of the stores were stacks of something or somethings wrapped tightly in black plastic. As I bent down to read the first one, hoping for insight into what was inside, I read the following: “Do Not Open Until Black Friday.” Stacks were all over the store. A part of me wanted to peek and see what was inside these mounds of merchandise but upon second thought, I let that go. Instead, in what was record time for me, I found the three items needed and checked out.
As I left the store I reflected on Black Friday for a moment and those stacks in the aisles. It seems to me that this year almost every day, leading up to Black Friday, beginning with the week after Halloween, was or is Black Friday. Commercials have been relentless, as retailers have worked overtime to get the attention of those who will be spending more money than they have to buy gifts for others. I know personally that I’m going to run out and purchase that new Mercedes Benz (or pick a car), put a huge bow on it and try to hide it from Lin until Christmas Day arrives.
The truth of the matter is that we get caught up in this season, which, it seems to me, has become Christmas for many, and we’ve lost sight of the hope and expectation that Advent offers. Maybe Advent is a bit like those stacks in Home Depot that will be unwrapped and revealed on Black Friday. We just have to wait and see what’s inside and sometimes that waiting is challenging. It’s the little child in all of us.
In the Overview on Sundays and Seasons for Advent 1 the opening imperatives state: “Turn On. Tune In. Wake Up!” I might suggest a minor change in the language. “Turn On. Tune Out. Tune In. Wake up!” Tune Out the material world during these holy days as best you can. Find space for the holy, for quiet, for reflection. And, as that space develops and becomes recognizable, Tune In to the Presence that awaits you, the God who is coming.
Take time each day, even if only for a few minutes, to sit in hope and expectation. Perhaps that might take place as you daily light the candles on the Advent Wreath and offer a prayer. Maybe it occurs as you open the door of this year’s Advent Calendar and discover something new each day. It’s even possible that sitting in silence and listening will offer the hope and expectation that we seek. Whatever works for you works. Find that space, that place, that time and simply be. Be quiet. Be aware. Be present. Be tuned in to the God who came, who comes and who will come again.
Sing the great hymns as your cleaning or cooking or shopping or driving. Remember Emmanuel is coming. The light is breaking into the darkness. Hope is permeating the cosmos. The Child will be born!
Unwrap those realities in these coming days leading up to that great day when the Word will become flesh and, as difficult as it may be, remain in these Advent moments, waiting and watching and wondering. As the great hymn suggests:
We are called to ponder myst’ry
and await the coming Christ,
To embody God’s compassion for each fragile human life.
God is with us in our longing
To bring healing to the earth,
While we watch with joy and wonder
For the promised Savior’s birth
ELW Unexpected and Mysterious #258
Follow this link to listen to the entire hymn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIZdSJS5Qh0
In Great Hope and Expectation,
John S. Macholz, Bishop