The first week of Advent has been a flurry of activity. Students are handing in assignments, last minute homework checks, christmas ornaments on the tree, stories being shared with the children, and very little reflection on HIM.
Flurries, busyness, activities, meals, and only a little of HIM.
Isn't that how it goes? The season is planned, cookies are baked, prayers are said, meals are shared, and yet we seem to reflect only a little on the baby in the manger.
Advent is this season of waiting. We are always waiting for Christ but the ache is more apparent in this season.
And then I heard "Silent Night". For the first time, I was struck by the lines, "All is calm, All is bright." These words do not seem in sync with one another at all. They contrast, but it isn't jarring. Together they evoke a longing and a curiosity.
Flurries, busyness, activities, meals, and only a little of HIM.
Isn't that how it goes? The season is planned, cookies are baked, prayers are said, meals are shared, and yet we seem to reflect only a little on the baby in the manger.
Advent is this season of waiting. We are always waiting for Christ but the ache is more apparent in this season.
And then I heard "Silent Night". For the first time, I was struck by the lines, "All is calm, All is bright." These words do not seem in sync with one another at all. They contrast, but it isn't jarring. Together they evoke a longing and a curiosity.
Whisper them together now, under your breath. Really. No one is listening. "Calm and bright. Calm and bright." What do you feel?
Calm. I feel peace. Peace in His Presence. Bright. I feel light and lightness. Together. Calm and bright. I feel peace, hope, and welcome. I am expectant. Another moment of immanence and transcendence.
The calming peace of Christ lies in his nearness. He has come. He is here. He is close by.
Calm. I feel peace. Peace in His Presence. Bright. I feel light and lightness. Together. Calm and bright. I feel peace, hope, and welcome. I am expectant. Another moment of immanence and transcendence.
The calming peace of Christ lies in his nearness. He has come. He is here. He is close by.
The brightness of hope is, in baby form, not too much too overwhelm. His transcendence is a flame that could incinerate and stupefy the merest man or woman - but in the Christ child it is a bright gleam of hope that I am not afraid to be near. Because "all is calm, all is bright," I can sleep in the heavenly peace of Christ.
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful..." John 14:27 NASB
During this season of joyful waiting, longing for the birth of Christ and the world's rebirth, I am struck by the beauty of it all. The waiting and the longing, this spiritual homing device that has been placed in our hearts by God to lead us back to Him.
As Psyche realizes in Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis), "It almost hurt me...like a bird in a cage when the other birds of its kind are flying home...The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty comes from...The longing for home."
Advent ache is real. All is calm. All is bright. All is beautiful. As. We. Wait. For. Him.
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful..." John 14:27 NASB
During this season of joyful waiting, longing for the birth of Christ and the world's rebirth, I am struck by the beauty of it all. The waiting and the longing, this spiritual homing device that has been placed in our hearts by God to lead us back to Him.
As Psyche realizes in Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis), "It almost hurt me...like a bird in a cage when the other birds of its kind are flying home...The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty comes from...The longing for home."
Advent ache is real. All is calm. All is bright. All is beautiful. As. We. Wait. For. Him.
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