Advent Reflections (Part 1)

With our first Christmas actually at home, Kyle and I faced a blank canvas. What family traditions would we continue? What new traditions would we create?

We decided to watch lots of Christmas movies, of course. Elf. The Santa Clause. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - the cartoon, not the live action Jim Carrey monstrosity. Home Alone. The Muppet Christmas Carol. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, without which Kyle's Christmas wouldn't be complete. And maybe a few others.

We decorated our "tree." We've done that for several years now, but we were always headed out of town, so we always bought a small rosemary bush shaped like a Christmas tree. It's become part of Christmas for us.

Christmas trees smell like rosemary!

In high school, my family would bundle up and head to church at 11pm Christmas eve to worship and take communion. At the end, they'd shut off the lights, you'd light your candle from the candle held by the person next to you, and we'd sing Silent Night. It felt a little magical. And holy. And very cool being out til after midnight with my friends from youth group (I wasn't very wild, was I?). We found a Christmas eve caroling and candle-light service in town at 7pm - Kyle was much happier about the time!

We baked cookies and made real hot chocolate and drove around to see the lights. We hung stockings for each other, stuffed with candy and little toys. We ate Christmas day lunch with a dear friend.

And I found a resource for Advent readings.

We didn't read all of them. But I was still struck by the tension in the Advent season. Jesus has come and brought freedom and joy, but we wait for him to come again to end all suffering and evil. Traditionally Advent is seen as a chance to live in the sense of waiting and wanting that the Jewish people experienced, hoping for a Savior thousands of years ago. We identify with them, recognizing the evil around us, the broken world we live in. And we cry out, like they did, for someone to rescue us, to make things right in this world.

In Part 2 you can read what I’ve been thinking about a particular evil that’s been heavy on my mind and heart lately, that I want us to cry out together to be made right.