An Advent Rant in 3 Verses

Verse 2 – Changing The Ordo Honors People

Verse 1 was a consideration of the calendar: what we do now, how we got to that, how we might change it, and why that would be a good idea. Verse 2 is devoted to people: Christian people (the people of The Book) and not-yet-Christian people (the people of the pocketbook). During the sermon in Advent 1 (which I hope someday will become Christmas 1) a cartoon was used to illustrate a point. The cartoon showed two dogs walking together; one dog says to the other, “Let’s face it – money is really man’s best friend.” People of the Book look like People of the Pocketbook far too often in this regard, and this is more dramatically obvious during our Advent (their Christmas) than at any other time of year.

No matter how much or how little we allow ourselves to be drained by the commercial maelstrom, we don’t have to look too closely to see that when there’s no real Truth in your life, Advent/Christmas can be a tough time of year, regardless of available resources. We know where true joy lies (although a look at our checkbooks for December might suggest otherwise), but when the only happiness is found in HD, keeping one’s emotional and spiritual head above water can be a thankless and fruitless task. But because the Christian calendar is so out of sync with what is going on for those around us, it’s hard for us to make ourselves heard, or to really come along side people in a way that can be significantly helpful.

We do what we can, but we could do better. By placing Advent, our season of preparation, within the time when those we most wish to talk to are also involved in preparation, we can take advantage of natural opportunities to come alongside, to walk across the room, to make friends (perhaps for life), to be the hands and feet and voices that we were made to be, in an environment that says to people “We live here, too; we know what it’s like and how it feels; there’s something we want to share with you that's really important to us.” We have something of life-changing importance to say; God desires to use us to offer the only thing which will literally save lives. We know from experience that more often than not, people actually want to hear us, and want to receive what God has to offer. Realigning our calendar would be a small price to pay to join what the world around us is actually doing, be authentic about who we are and why we do what we do, and make more opportunities for the Lord to build His Kingdom.

Embracing Advent when preparation is going on all around us, giving ourselves time to really celebrate Christmas – what would that be like?

Next week – Changing the Ordo Honors God