The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, who look forward to something greater to come. For these, it is enough to wait in humble fear until the Holy One himself comes down to us, God in the child in the manger. God comes. The Lord Jesus comes. Christmas comes. Christians rejoice! - Dietrich BonhoefferOver the last two weeks, a small group of my fellow blan friends working for NGOs in Haiti have met together to celebrate Advent. Both sessions - the first focused on Hope and the second on Peace - have been encouraging times of reading, reflection, singing and prayer. A recurring theme has been the need to "look forward to something greater to come" (and to remember the good that is already here) for those we love in Haiti -a place where so many are troubled in body and soul.
I didn't grow up knowing anything about Advent. The year after we graduated, our household of three college friends tried to meet for a few minutes each evening to light a candle, read a passage and sing a carol. (None of us are musical but we did manage to pull of a pretty fun rendition of Go Tell it on the Mountain) Since then, I've managed to have some form of Advent celebration each year with friends or on my own. The daily reading calendar I use most years can be found here (Note: this is not a general endorsement of FOTF). I also really like some of the reflections in this book.
For a totally different perspective, check out these postings of images taken with the Hubble Space telescope for 25 days of Advent. Incredible.
2 comments:
I second your endorsement of the book you mention; I read Watch for the Light during Advent five years ago or so and seem to turn to it again each year. Good quote too; we are studying Bonhoeffer in our men's group at church right now, so I'm going to pass it on.
There was a BRAND-NEW baby getting baptized at our church this past Sunday ... the mom had come to the orientation pregnant and said, I'm getting a c-section on Tuesday and I'll bring him next Sunday to be baptized! Crazy mom. Anyway, just getting a glimpse of that little life reminded me how fragile the Holy One became. Even though I've had two myself, you forget so quickly as they grow. There is something mysteriously wonderful about God as baby.
There's my Advent thought for you. :)
SLS
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