Friends,
I hope you are still in the zone from a Thanksgiving Day filled with family and gratitude. However ambiguous its beginnings were, Thanksgiving Day can be a beautiful tradition, encouraging us to be thankful and count our blessings. It can be a time when families gather joyfully, and when many people engage in works of serving others. It is easy dismiss the holiday, given how crassly it has become the springboard to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and (to salve the conscience a bit) Giving Tuesday, collectively known as the beginning of the “Christmas shopping season.” Whether you experience this weekend as a beautiful time, dread it as the beginning of a month of madness, or a little bit of both, I have good news to share.
According to the liturgical calendar of the church, this weekend marks the beginning of Advent and, as such, the beginning of a New Year. Liturgical calendars are human inventions, so we ought not to overestimate their theological significance. They do, however, tap into something that is very meaningful – the rhythmic nature of life. We have seasons; our planet makes its way around the sun over and over; the earth spins, giving night and day; and so on. The span of human life itself has a rhythm, from birth to our own sunset years. So, while Liturgical calendars are human inventions, they can be valuable tools for a community like ours, enabling us to share a collective rhythm.
So, let’s look at Advent, those four weekends prior to Christmas, when we stand in solidarity with those communities throughout history and the globe who have longed and prayed and hoped for a time when peace and justice prevail. This year, our theme is “What do you fear? Insisting on hope this Advent.”
We will acknowledge the fear that permeates the Christmas story – hence the repeated words, “Do not fear!” We will see how fears are consistently disrupted by the appearance of angels, stars, prophets, and even babies, carrying “Good news of great joy.” On Saturday, December 6, we will have a “Blue Christmas Service,” acknowledging that the good cheer presumed in so many Christmas songs can be elusive at times. On Sunday, December 7, our children will present a new Pageant entitled, “What Are You Afraid Of?” enabling us to hear the Christmas story anew.
Each week, we will insist on hope by citing this Affirmation of faith: “We have seen the valley. We have seen a sky without stars. We have seen the longest night, and still we believe. We believe in a with-us God. We believe in the hope of tomorrow.
We believe that good news is louder than fear. We believe this good news is for all people. So even when our knees shake, even when our voice trembles, even when fear is all around us, we will hold onto that good news. We will reach for each other. We will look for God in our midst. We will sing songs of joy. We will proclaim: Unto us, love is born. We have seen the longest night, and we have seen unimaginable love. So still, we believe.”
Let’s worship together,
Mark of St. Mark
