Advent is about waiting!

Sorry, the day after Halloween is not the beginning of the Christmas season. Not even close. Neither is the day after Thanksgiving!

The official waiting for Christmas season, Advent, didn’t even start until December first, and here we are only 15 days away from Christmas season actually starting. Yes, I said it. CHRISTMAS SEASON DOESN’T EVEN START UNTIL CHRISTMAS DAY!!!!!!!

That’s right. The twelve days of Christmas start on Christmas day. The celebration of the birth of Christ starts on the day of his birth. Not before.

You know what did start on December 1st though? The waiting for our Savior’s birth. The preparation for Our Savior’s birth. The anticipation!! Advent for us started on December 1st. We only have a little over three weeks to prepare each year. I mean, we really have the whole year, but we really don’t focus on it until Advent. How spoiled we are.

The original Advent started with Adam and Eve. Their disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden. God had to come in, correct and redirect. He promised a Savior would come and BAM! The first Advent began. Theirs (the advent of our ancestors) lasted thousands of years. They waited for that Savior forever!! and we can’t wait patiently for his arrival for a few weeks? pathetic. We humans are so impatient. We have to jump the gun.

I like to go back to pondering the original Advent. The thousand year advent, to get my mind in the right place. You know, God could have said “what the heck? this human thing seemed like a good idea, but right out of the box, what do they do? They listen to the enemy and not me. That’s it. I’m done.”

Thank God he didn’t give up on us that soon. He sent prophet after prophet, (prophetess after prophetess), to try and set us straight, and every time He figured it was time, there we go messing it up again. Look at the list of amazing prophets He sent. The list I made counted up to 57 or more prophets He sent to set us on the right path, and did we listen? no. I’m willing to bet you dollars to donuts He would have sent his Savior sooner if we hadn’t kept messing it up.

How many pregnant women in those centuries leading up to the birth of the Messiah, when pregnant, wondered if they might be carrying the Savior? None of them knew when it would happen.

You know, when I moved to the south over a dozen or so years ago, I was told by a local, “If the service guy says he’s coming on Tuesday, ask him which Tuesday” Those words were so wise. Same as the coming of the Savior. No one knew the time or the place, but it was imperative they were ready. When it got right down to it, Elizabeth knew. John the Baptist knew. They were inspired to know. For goodness sake, John leaped for joy in his mothers womb with the greeting of Mary when she visited Elizabeth carrying the Christ Child. Mary knew. (yes, contradictory to that famous song, she DID know) and Joseph knew. It was time. He was coming. And they prepared.

When Joseph went into that cave with his laboring wife, he probably kicked out of the way any debris that might be blocking Mary’s path. Let’s kick out the debris blocking the path of our love so we can receive Jesus. As Mary labored, let us too labor to prepare our spiritual stables for the birth of Our Lord. Let’s clear away the cobwebs of nuisance and distraction. Of bad habits and language. Make peace with that annoying neighbor, or long lost friend that you lost over a stupid misunderstanding.

Light the candle to light up the cave on that night. Bring light into the darkest recesses of our heart where our Lord will dwell. Go to confession. Clear out the hidden debris. Prepare for Our Lord to rest there. Accept the apology you will never get. Move forward free to love. Until we can let go of hate we cannot love fully.

During Lent I like to look to these prophets for guidance in preparing myself for the coming of Our Savior. Look to the trust of Abraham. The courage of David when he stepped up to fight Goliath. The bravery of Esther in defending her people, risking her life in the process. Look to Jonah, who tried to escape God’s will and jump on a boat to Tarshish. He finally had what it took to go into a city where he wasn’t welcome and spread his message of repentance.

Let’s walk through Advent with those who went before us, and listen to their messages to prepare the way of the Lord.