Embracing the Gift of Advent: A Journey of Preparation
Advent is not just a countdown to Christmas; it’s a season of waiting, of longing, and of deep, transformative preparation. For many of us, the hustle and bustle of the holiday season can sometimes drown out the peaceful invitation that Advent offers. But in the midst of all the distractions, there’s an opportunity for something more—something deeper. Advent invites us into a quiet, intentional season where we prepare not just our homes, but our hearts, for the coming of Christ.
Think about this: when we are preparing for something big, like a wedding or the birth of a child, we don’t just rush through it. We plan. We wait. We anticipate. And that’s what Advent is—a time of anticipation. Not in the sense of rushing to get to Christmas, but in the sense of allowing ourselves to be present, fully awake to the grace that God wants to pour into our lives. It’s a time to look at our lives and ask: How can I make room for Jesus?
The Beauty of the "Waiting"
We often hear that Advent is a time of waiting, but what does that really mean? In our culture, waiting can feel like wasted time. We don’t like to wait. We want things now. But in the spiritual life, waiting isn’t a passive experience. It’s an active, deliberate posture of openness to God. It’s a time where we reflect on the first coming of Christ in Bethlehem and look forward to His second coming in glory. We live in the tension of the “already” and the “not yet.”
This can be uncomfortable, right? We want answers, solutions, resolutions. But Advent calls us to sit in the mystery. To sit in the discomfort. To trust that God is working, even when we can’t see it. It’s like the moment a seed is planted—it’s buried, unseen, yet so much is happening beneath the surface. In our lives, Advent can be that time where we allow God to plant seeds of grace and hope, knowing that He is doing something in us, even when we don’t fully understand it yet.
The Invitation to Be Present
In the Gospel of Matthew, we hear Jesus say, "Stay awake, for you do not know on which day your Lord will come" (Matthew 24:42). The challenge of Advent is not just to wait, but to stay awake. And I think this is the heart of it—how often do we go through life on autopilot, missing the invitation to be present? To be awake to the needs of others? To be awake to the presence of Christ in our midst?
This season invites us to step back from the noise of the world, to quiet our hearts, and to really ask ourselves: Am I awake to God’s presence in my life? Am I truly listening for His voice? The world wants us to focus on the things we can see, the things that are immediate, the things that grab our attention. But Advent asks us to focus on the unseen, the eternal.
Hope in the Midst of Darkness
Advent comes during a time when the days grow shorter and the nights longer. It’s a season where we often experience more darkness—both literally and metaphorically. But there’s a beauty in that. Advent reminds us that even in the darkest of times, the light of Christ is coming. And that light doesn’t just shine at Christmas; it shines now, in our waiting. Christ is the light that breaks into our darkness, the hope that pierces through the despair.
In this season, we remember the people of Israel, who lived in darkness for centuries, waiting for the Messiah. They didn’t know exactly when He would come, but they knew He would. And that hope, that expectation, sustained them. The same is true for us. Advent is a season of hope. It’s a season where we trust that God is at work, even when we can’t see the results yet.
How to Live Advent Well
So, how can we live Advent well? It’s simple: we slow down. We pray more. We make time to prepare our hearts. Maybe that means setting aside time each day for prayer, reading Scripture, or reflecting on the mystery of the Incarnation. Maybe it means being more intentional about how we love others—seeing the people in our lives as gifts and being present with them.
If we truly want to live Advent well, we need to choose to make space for Christ. We have to be intentional about it, because if we’re not, the season will pass by in a blur. And before we know it, Christmas will come, but we won’t have had time to prepare ourselves to fully receive the gift of Jesus.
Advent is an invitation to slow down, to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming, and to live with hope in the midst of darkness. Let’s make this season count. Let’s embrace the waiting, stay awake to God’s presence, and trust that the light of Christ is breaking into our lives—now and always.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.