Welcome to Advent!

This past Sunday, November 30, we entered the season of Advent. Advent begins every year on the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas Day; it is a season to recollect the hope of the coming of Christ, and to look forward to the Lord’s coming again. Ideally, Advent should feel different from the rest of the Christian year – not just because the sanctuary is beautifully decorated, not just because we light Advent candles every week, not just because we begin to sing songs that remind us of Christmas, but also because we have the privilege and the opportunity to be intentional about observing this season of Advent in our daily lives. That is to say, there are things we can do during this Advent season to nourish our spiritual selves. When practiced well, Advent can be a deeply enriching and life-giving spiritual experience. Yet how do we do that? It is so easy to get caught up in the “busy-ness” of the season – what can we do to stay focused on the reason for the season? When the whole retail industry is encouraging us to “buy, buy, buy,” what can we do to “grow, grow, grow”?

Here are half a dozen suggestions intended to help you grow spiritually this Advent season. Many of these can continue with you well after Advent is over.

Worship faithfully. Join us in community each week as we remember and celebrate the hope, peace, love, and joy of the coming of Jesus Christ this Advent season. Don’t allow your schedule to become so packed full of “things to do” or “presents to buy” that you neglect to carve out time to nourish your spirit in community with other fellow pilgrims. Every time we gather together to worship is an opportunity for spiritual renewal. Don’t just come because you feel like you’re supposed to; come because you know you need to – for your own well-being.

Read and study the lectionary passages prior to Sunday worship. We have a habit here of publishing the scripture readings for each Sunday in the newsletter. There’s a reason for that, and it’s not just to fill up space. I’d like to invite and encourage you to read the lessons before you arrive here for worship. Whether you know the Bible pretty well or whether you aren’t sure whether Isaiah is in the Old Testament or the New, this is a great practice to develop. When people spend time with the scriptures prior to worship, they tend to get more out of worship. If you’re not sure what the passages mean, spend some time in the church library – we have a whole set of the New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, and a partial set of the Westminster Bible Companion (it would sure be nice to complete that set!), both of which are good, solid, reliable commentaries on the various books of the Bible; the Westminster series may be a little more accessible for the novice. But even if you don’t feel inclined to explore the commentaries, simply exploring the scriptures will deepen your experience in worship.

Go deeper in the scriptures. For those who feel ready to really go deeper, there are structured ways to spend some time with the scriptures on a daily basis. One that I find useful is the “daily lectionary,” which every day provides one gospel reading, one reading from somewhere else in the New Testament, a few readings from the Psalms, and a reading from somewhere else in the Old Testament. Over the course of one year, you will read through the entire New Testament; over the course of two years, you will read through the bulk of the Old Testament. A new cycle of readings began just this past Sunday; Advent is a great time to start developing this habit. Some people find it difficult to keep up with all the readings simultaneously; it’s okay to simply focus on some of the readings – you could, for example, make a commitment to read one gospel text and one Psalm every day. You can find full details about the daily lectionary online at http://www.pcusa.org/devotions/lectionary/; you can print out month-by-month lists of readings, and you can even subscribe to an email list that will provide you with each day’s readings automatically in your inbox every day.

Spend some time in prayer or meditation daily. Lay your hopes and fears and dreams and joys and concerns before God. Some people prefer to do this in “traditional” ways; others may prefer some “non-traditional” ways, such as journaling or even yoga. Don’t forget, when you pray or meditate, to listen attentively for what God might be telling you; sometimes, we’re so busy talking to God that we neglect to listen for what God might be saying to us in the silence. Personally, I have found two books immensely helpful to help me grow in my own devotional life: Soul Feast by Marjorie Thompson is a wonderful introduction to the spiritual life, written by an ordained PC(USA) minister (and it’s a great book to read and discuss in the company of others); and Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, and Matthew Linn is a very simple book that introduces a very simple practice that you can do at the end of each day to prayerfully reflect on your day’s high points and low points, and to listen for what God might be saying to you through those reflections. I have been wonderfully enriched by spending time with both books and engaging in the practices they recommend, and I heartily recommend them to others. Of course, enriching your prayer life is something you can do in any season – but why not start now, here in this season when we’re expectantly looking forward to the coming of Jesus Christ?

Develop some Advent disciplines with your family or the members of your household. There’s nothing quite like having your own Advent wreath sitting on your kitchen table, using an Advent calendar, lighting candles, singing songs, and/or reading passages out loud together. Our church is, right now, giving away copies of a book filled with activities that you can do at home to help deepen the meaning of this Advent season, and another book filled with Advent devotions. Pick these up, take them home, and find ways to engage in practices in your homes that foster the Advent spirit. Remember, Advent isn’t just (or even primarily) for children – it is an opportunity for spiritual growth for all of us!

Consider alternative Christmas giving. In the past hundred years in our culture, getting ready for Christmas has become a tremendously commercial activity; the emphasis in the culture around us seems to be on buying things in retail chain stores. It was not always so. There are other things we can do to show our love for the people we care about. Some people would simply welcome someone willing to spend some time with them. Or, how about creating something for the people you love – maybe some art, or some pottery, or some poetry, or a song? There are also ways to give gifts to other people that provide benefit to people in need near at hand or far across the globe; you can always make a charitable donation to various worthy causes (like Loaves and Fishes, Heifer International, or Church World Service). You can also buy gifts that guarantee that the workers who made these products are getting a fair return for their labor, such as fair trade gifts, Ten Thousand Villages products, and sweat-free tees. Our own Maggie Knust will be leading a class this coming Sunday following worship on alternative Christmas giving in which she will be talking about the ways you can give “alternative” gifts to your loved ones this Christmas season; for a little teaser, you can explore http://www.pcusa.org/enough/.

Ultimately, how you spend Advent is up to you. These weeks leading up to Christmas can be a time of incredible stress. They can also be an opportunity for you to focus your priorities, to look for ways to concentrate on the real meaning of the season, and to grow in the ways of Jesus Christ. Isn’t that what really matters?

Peace and blessings,

Rev. Bill Pinches
Pastor