“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” Romans 7:19
The Advent Season
Welcome to the first season of the Church year, Advent.
The Church (that is the universal one, not our local one or even just our denomination) gives us a calendar for going through the life of Christ while practicing certain virtues for our ongoing conversion to God. This calendar breaks down into two sections: (1) Birth to Baptism and (2) Ministry to Resurrection.
I thought I would spend 2022 going through that calendar with you. First, the seasons divide easily into my publication schedule. That’s nice and convenient, right? Second, I find lots of graceful guidance in the Church calendar, so I thought I’d share that with you.
You and I prepare to celebrate Christmas during Advent. I find it a great time for remembering God’s fulfilled promises. That way, I can wait with hope for the fulfillment of promises to come. In fact, our Scripture readings in worship recall those who waited for God’s Messiah and remind us that we wait for His return. So, Advent is a season of waiting on our sanctification journeys.
A Picture of Ordinary Life
So, Advent’s call to us is to wait with God. However, there’s a lot of noise around our waiting with God. Noise is my term for all those things which distract us from going with God. Advent is full of noise: all those lists of things to do before family get-togethers, for example. You have to have the right food, the correct decorations, and the precise gifts under the tree. Should you fail at any step, you will not have the perfect Christmas, according to the advice from our secular Shopping Season. If all that advice doesn’t qualify as noise, I don’t know what will.
Now, Jessica and I work hard for that perfect family get-together. Jessica prepares the bread for the oven while I play hide and seek with Lynn and Ruth. Then, I drown our bathroom in Clorox while Jessica sings princess songs with the girls. We have complete confidence in our exact plan for every step. We even have steps for Lynn and Ruth. All we have to do is follow our plan.
Then, Lynn resets a timer, and Ruth helps me by picking up that forgotten sticker – and putting it in her mouth. We divert to the kids, which leads to burnt bread and fresh spit up on the green chair.
By the end, the ham is in the oven about the time the doorbell rings. But, I can’t hear the doorbell because I just started vacuuming. Lynn points at the window with a gleeful shout: “They’re here!”
I shake my head at Jessica, who throws her arms over her head. Neither of us completed the plan. We didn’t ask the other for help, and we did it all on our own. So, we open the door with a sense of exhaustion. This is far from the perfect start that we planned.
Faithful Journey Looks Like Ordinary Life
Your sanctification journey and mine look a lot like Jessica and I while we waited for our guests. For much of our sanctification journeys, we wait on God to mature His perfection of us. Yet, we fill our sanctification journeys with perfect plans, like reading that popular Bible study.
But then, you and I have a long day at work, so we can’t get into that Bible study. Instead of sharing that long day with God, we close the book and go to bed. The noise of our life distracts us from time with God.
You and I did our own thing on our sanctification journeys like Jessica and I did while we prepared for our guests. Our plans created a noise that distracted us from our Companion, so we tried to walk alone.
As you and I wait this Advent season, may we wait with our Companion. I pray our reflections this season will show us our steps through our ordinary lives. Then, may God’s grace move us from waiting with God to going with God.
Story Time
Now, I’d like to share a story. Stories give me a chance to slow down so that I might hear God’s call for my life. Plus, Jesus told a lot of stories, so I can imitate Him in this way. December’s story features the conflict of decorating the Christmas tree. Jocelyn and Avery must decorate their first tree together. However, there’s plenty of noise that distracts both of them. Can they go through tree decoration together or will they choose to walk alone?
December’s story: “Decking The Halls”
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