Christmas is coming… You can’t
really miss that, can you? The supermarkets are geared up to sell us all we
need for Christmas as soon as they’ve finished selling us Halloween and
Fireworks Night. Christmas advertising gets underway as soon as Remembrance
Sunday has finished. At St. John’s we lit the Christmas Tree in the church
garden last Thursday and sang our first carols; and St. Cuthbert’s had its
wonderful Christmas Fair yesterday, complete with a visit from Father Christmas
and Mrs. Claus. And I’ve even worn my skiing-Santa jumper - and been complimented for doing so!
But it’s back in the cupboard now - and today we begin Advent! I
sometimes find myself saying, “Let’s get Christmas out of the way, so that we
can start Advent.” Actually I’m not feeling at all grouchy. We had a fantastic
turnout for the lighting of the Tree at St. John’s; and yesterday’s Fair at St.
Cuthbert’s was successful, not just in raising money that we need, but in bringing
people together in a way that a shopping expedition in search of the ideal
Christmas gift never can - it was fun, people worked together and laughed
together. Both of these Christmassy events were about building community - and
all the better because we didn’t have to say what we were doing: we just did
it, and it happened.
In the midst of all the
busy-ness I found myself in a meeting with a social worker who was reviewing my
mother’s first three months in a residential care home. It was one of those
meetings that gets disrupted as people come and go, cups of tea get made and
the chiropodist appears so that my mother had to disappear to get her toenails
seen to. In the midst of it, with my mother out of the room, the social worker
and I found ourselves talking about sickness and death. It was a fact of life
for her, working as she does with old people, but she’d been touched by it
personally too. She could understand where faith fits in, and had one herself,
but didn’t see that it required her to go to church. That was where I pointed
out what we’d just been talking about: that my mother could appear quite matter
of fact about death and getting ready for it. She has her funeral plan. She
knows what she wants. She was ready for it when my father died. I suggested that
it was a life of church-going that
was in large part the reason for this. Not
just having a personal faith - though I’d encourage anyone to ask
themselves what they really believe. But the fact that church-going is a social thing: it’s about coming together
with other people; you get the chance to talk about things you wouldn’t
normally; you can ask your questions, and share your feelings and doubts.
And I say this now because I
think this is something that gets particularly focused during Advent. We know
what happens at the end of Advent - Christmas!
It’s about preparing for the coming of Jesus - even though we know he will come, even though we know that he has come! It’s about preparing for the
coming of the Son of Man in glory at the end of time or when his Kingdom is
established - though really we may not know what that means, and from today’s
Gospel reading it’s pretty certain that Jesus’ first disciples didn’t know
either! Advent means literally Coming.
But it’s more than that. Advent requires waiting.
We need to be patient. And it gives us time to ask what is truly important,
what are we waiting for? Christmas is at the end of it, but it isn’t a season
that should force us into a desperate sense of frenzied activity just to get
everything done. It’s the season instead to ask, will Christ at his coming find
us with hearts that are prepared to welcome him? Nothing we do will make Christmas happen. The child Jesus will be born, because he has been born - but are we ready for that birth?
These are things to think about
- and, I hope, to talk about and share.
I’ve been taking a first look
at Advent Extra, the booklet that
quite a number of people in both our parishes have bought. I’ve read a couple
of the articles, looked at the pictures, wondered if the “Easy Sudoku” puzzle
is really easy enough for me to solve… But I’ve been most touched by looking at
the centre spread which is a simple Advent Calendar. It actually starts today,
Advent Sunday, not on 1st December like the ones you buy in the
shops. It doesn’t have any windows to open, it doesn’t offer any chocolate for
a daily treat (or gin or prosecco). But each day it presents a thought. It’s
directed at children, so adults might
just about be able to grasp what it’s about. “Say ‘yes’ when asked to help,” it
suggests for one day. “Play with someone who seems lonely.” “Draw a big heart.
Write the names of people you want to pray for during Advent.” And the
following day: “Pray for all the people in your heart.” It’s not just for
children. It’s something we all need
to do. “Think about Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay. Jesus, thank
you for my home...” - we need that spirit of gratitude to be re-kindled in our
hearts. And you can try this one: “Sing the song, ‘Little Donkey.’ Think of a
name for the donkey.”
Think - use your imagination. Talk
- share what is in your heart, with
other people and with God.
Having the children of Castleside
Primary School with us when we lit the tree at St. John’s was important.
There was the joy of their singing beneath the tree - in a way that adults have
often lost. And then they led us into the church. Into the altar we have built
a crib. It’s covered over again now for Advent, but last Thursday it was opened
up and lit. And the children gather round it to sing, “Love came down…” Afterwards, everyone,
I think, came up to look into the crib. Here there is love, God reaching out to
us, and touching us in the child Jesus when he comes. Are we ready?
As we begin our Advent journey,
we hear the call to look again at ourselves and our needs, our faults and
failings – but then to recognise the mercy of God, his compassion, his desire
to share his love, and to reveal that love in our lives.
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