Advent Greetings to you!
This is far and away my favorite season for its metaphors of darkness and light, Love Incarnate, and illustrations of God-with-us. I’m snatching this unexpected window for writing, as the baby finally fell asleep as it was time to leave for Mass, second-hand tea bag steeping in the stolen quiet while the rest of the gang drove off in the frosted car.
I laughed out loud as I read today’s reflection about listening and staying awake: ‘The holy thief breaks into our lives quietly, the barely audible click of a door, the softest padding of feet.’ I have found myself waking from Nutcracker-like dreams, laying in bed listening for the snap of mouse traps as our unfinished construction project looms on, beckoning more than one weary seeker to find shelter in our home. Hardly the holiday-ready home pictured in any ad splashed before our eyes this month.
There is no shortage of shiny resources to aid us in providing a new lens through which to receive this Advent–hoping it will be the most enriching and spiritually-nourishing yet. This fresh start feels plausible because we have been changed over the past year and understand the Nativity story through a newly-lived experience. I don’t know about you, but I am certainly a different person than the one preparing to welcome the Christ child last year this time; I have been stretched in every sense of the word. Perhaps that resonates with you, too.
And it is good to be reminded that the One we are preparing for was born into a poor family, amidst livestock. Word made flesh, straight into the feed trough. Bread of Life from the very beginning. High hopes, alongside very domesticated ones.
For all the good intentions and high hopes for the peace-filled and spiritually renewing season, it is the nitty-gritty of our every day that the Lord is waiting to enter into. At the risk of domesticating Emmanuel, I invite us to carve our space for that, too.
Japanese Kintsugi (golden repair) and Navajo weavers who leave intentional flaws in their design, offer tangible reminders of the ways our best efforts, though good and beautiful, necessarily fall short of the perfection we seek. This does not diminish their goodness but accentuates our radical dependence on God. Offered willingly to the One who is perfection, our efforts (and ourselves) will in turn be created anew.
So with confidence we bring our lackluster prayer lives, our uninspiring decor, our fraying favorite sweater, even our sharp edges that bump up against others in the frenzy of holiday preparation, and lay them in the dust of the Creche, asking that this year we might glimpse the startling goodness of our humble offerings.
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“Hope is one of my favorite emotions because of its humility. It’s not like gladness or joy which stick around just for the good stuff. Hope is my heart’s missionary– it humbly seeks fear and shame and befriends them. Hope enters the very dusty portals or my heart and clears out the cobwebs, and whispers the promise of perfection.”
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In other news…
I am thrilled to tell you that I am sharing in collaboration with Mothering Spirit some tender thoughts on Complicated Joy and the way the Lord has been speaking to my heart over the past year.
In case you missed it over at Blessed Is She, I got to share on the Synod and the Paradox of Martin the Merciful. Be on the lookout for a Christmas meditation inspired by one of my favorite artists in December!
Related reflections
A Tale of Two Advents Light in the Darkness Thresholds Playing the Waiting Game
Around the Web
Advent with Oscar Romero, a free resource for Advent Reflections by Cameron Bellm
Mystery Deeper Than Memory, Sacred Remnant
Opportunity to give
I’ve shared my support for Heifer International. If you are inclined, their holiday drive is being TRIPLED this cyber Monday, extended through Tuesday.
Treat Yourself to a movie–
12/10 recommend seeing the first episodes of the Chosen Season 3 in Theaters. Coming in at #3 Thanksgiving weekend. I’d be sad to see you go. But if you want to, you can unsubscribe from here