Merry Christmas! Oh, wait.

I must bring it to your attention that there has been a scheduling error. Advertisements in the paper tell me that Christmas this year has been scheduled to run from November 1st to December 24th. That is incorrect. The Christmas Season will begin, as previously planned, on the evening of December 24th and will continue until the Baptism of the Lord on January 9th, 2012.

Last year, this same mixup led radio stations to play Christmas music nonstop after Thanksgiving so that by the time Christmas actually arrived “Silent Night” made our ears hurt. Likewise, by that time, we wanted nothing more than to reclaim the space in our living rooms occupied by then-deceased Christmas trees and their piles of dry, pointy needles.

As I write this reflection Advent has not yet arrived. It seems to me, however, that with the fast approach of Black Friday our city is already celebrating Christmas. The lights are up, the shopping malls are decked in green and red, and advertisements are full of reminders that the “holiday season” has arrived.

The busy-ness of the holiday (a word, by the way, that comes from “holy day”) season makes me want to stand up and shout “Wait! Slow down! We’ve forgotten all about Advent!”

The season of Advent, which we seem to skip in our country, is all about waiting. I remember as kid when the Advent wreath appeared in our tiny parish church. Each week I counted as the candles were lit, anxious for the arrival of Christmas. While I admit I was mostly anxious to know fewer weeks remained until I opened presents, that waiting, even for the opening of gifts, was a lesson in itself.

In Advent we are waiting to receive the most precious gift of all—God incarnate, walking among us, in Jesus Christ. Advent is a time for us to ponder the immensity of that gift and to prepare ourselves in prayer to receive him. This is not something we take on our own schedule or terms. This is not something we buy at Black Friday prices. Rather God, in Jesus Christ, is someone we receive, freely, but according to his schedule and plan.

His coming into history forever changed the world. Now, we await his coming anew. Let us approach Christmas slowly, with an attitude of prayerful anticipation, waiting as we move through Advent, to receive the greatest gift possible: God himself.

God Bless,
Fr. Jason Signalness

Image used with permission from www.adventconspiracy.org.