stop the rushing
December 23, 2018
Luke 1:39-55
Even though I have three children, I will never know what it is like to feel an unborn baby kick inside of me. I do, however, remember Amy being pregnant and calling me to come quick and then placing my hand on her tummy. Then I waited to feel that little kick or punch coming from inside. There were times when she couldn’t place my hand on her tummy fast enough. It was like that whack a mole game where something was popping up so quickly that I didn’t have enough hands to get to them all. Then there were times when she would place my hand and we would wait… And wait… And wait, for what felt like an eternity, but was more than likely less than a full minute. During those times, she would move my hand from one place to another like we were somehow communicating with the life inside saying, “Are you here? If so, please kick.”
As I look back, I can remember instances where she would place my hand on her tummy and nothing would happen. No matter where she moved my hand. Being as impatient as I can be, I would get up and move onto the next thing in my head, but I would always say if they start up again call me and I’ll come right over. Now I don’t know about any of you, but waiting is hard for me. The desire for instant gratification can be so intoxicating, that waiting can leave me feeling like I’ve had surgery without anesthesia. Truth be told, I’ve come to realize that waiting is actually central to the very experience of Joy. Just like every other parent, no matter how badly Amy and I wanted to experience the birth of our children, we had to wait. And while waiting can be hard, birth of something new, or someone new shouldn’t be rushed. Looking back, there was joy during each day of the process that lead to the birth. I find it fitting that I’ve reached this conclusion during this Advent season.
Now it may come as a shock, but the season of Christmas isn’t actually here yet. It is coming, no doubt. It’s just that we are still in a season of waiting and that season is called Advent. Advent is all about waiting. And for what are we called to wait? Well a gift of course… The gift of birth… The birth of Jesus. During Advent we wait for the miracle of new life. In the Celtic tradition, Advent is similar to darkness and both are known as the time to prepare and wait for new beginnings.
This idea of preparing and waiting for new beginnings is why I appreciate the placement of today’s scripture in the Lectionary calendar. You see, while the world around us is rushing as hard as it can into Christmas, or the celebration of the birth, today’s scripture isn’t about the gift of Jesus’ birth, it’s at least partly about waiting. Yes, the birth will happen. Yes, the unbelievable gift of new life will happen for both Elizabeth and Mary, but this gift… This birth… Shouldn’t be rushed. In fact, this birth can’t be rushed and the sooner we realize that the more profound the joy that the gift brings with it becomes because when we stop trying to rush the events of our lives, we actually start living right where we find ourselves.
If you are like me then you know how easily you can succumb to the desire for instant gratification. Why wait, when you can have it now? That mentality is so intoxicating and when we live with that mentality, it seems, we end up forgetting about the natural flow of the created seasons. It is as though we have decided we get to manufacture it all. We get to decide what we want, and more importantly, we get to decide when we get it. The thing is, when this becomes our way of approaching life, we have no idea what to do when we are called to prepare and wait. And when we don’t know how to prepare and wait, then we’ve lost touch with the world our God created. When we don’t know how to prepare and wait, we’ve lost touch with the joy of receiving a gift. When we don’t know how to prepare and wait, we’ve lost touch.
This past week as I drove to work one morning, I passed another church. This church happened to be one of those that has a marquee in the front. You know, those marquees that contain an ever-changing message of someone’s choosing. I have always found the messages on these things quite funny, but I felt a different emotion when I read the message on this one. I felt a sadness when I read the message on display for all to see that today, this Sunday, that church is celebrating Christmas. I’ve thought about that message a lot since reading it, and I’ve been sad every time. What happened to the fourth Sunday of Advent? What happened to the period of time needed to prepare and then wait for this gift of new life? Isn’t Mary still pregnant?
You see, there is a rhythm to these things and I believe we need to protect that rhythm. Today is Sunday, December 23, 2018. It is the fourth Sunday in the season of Advent. The season that calls us to prepare and wait for the gift of birth, both Jesus’ and quite possibly our own. Today is not Christmas, but Christmas is coming, and that is the most promising good news for all. It’s just that Christmas is not here yet, and that is OK. In fact, if we take Advent seriously, our preparation and our waiting will make the joy we experience in receiving this gift of new life even better than we could have imagined.
I’ve shared with you all before how much I love Christmas. I always have. Being able to celebrate Christmas… Being able to celebrate this unbelievable gift of new life, is special in so many ways. But the only way we get to truly experience all that this gift has to offer is by taking seriously the need to prepare and wait. Having that time to prepare and wait is actually a gift too. It is the gift of the Advent season. And by taking advantage of this gift of Advent, not only do we prepare and wait for Jesus’ birth, we also prepare and wait for the birth of new life within ourselves. And when we embrace this possibility for ourselves then our experience of Jesus’ birth actually becomes an experience we embody. And that my friends is a powerful gift.
So, for these next two days, feel around and see where new life may be kicking and punching inside of you because Christmas is coming. The gift of new life is right around the corner. But please don’t think you can rush it because when you do you might be missing the other gift… The gift of Advent. The gift of preparation and the gift of waiting. I pray that we all accept these gifts of Advent and luckily, we still have two days to do so.
Amen!
Luke 1:39-55
Even though I have three children, I will never know what it is like to feel an unborn baby kick inside of me. I do, however, remember Amy being pregnant and calling me to come quick and then placing my hand on her tummy. Then I waited to feel that little kick or punch coming from inside. There were times when she couldn’t place my hand on her tummy fast enough. It was like that whack a mole game where something was popping up so quickly that I didn’t have enough hands to get to them all. Then there were times when she would place my hand and we would wait… And wait… And wait, for what felt like an eternity, but was more than likely less than a full minute. During those times, she would move my hand from one place to another like we were somehow communicating with the life inside saying, “Are you here? If so, please kick.”
As I look back, I can remember instances where she would place my hand on her tummy and nothing would happen. No matter where she moved my hand. Being as impatient as I can be, I would get up and move onto the next thing in my head, but I would always say if they start up again call me and I’ll come right over. Now I don’t know about any of you, but waiting is hard for me. The desire for instant gratification can be so intoxicating, that waiting can leave me feeling like I’ve had surgery without anesthesia. Truth be told, I’ve come to realize that waiting is actually central to the very experience of Joy. Just like every other parent, no matter how badly Amy and I wanted to experience the birth of our children, we had to wait. And while waiting can be hard, birth of something new, or someone new shouldn’t be rushed. Looking back, there was joy during each day of the process that lead to the birth. I find it fitting that I’ve reached this conclusion during this Advent season.
Now it may come as a shock, but the season of Christmas isn’t actually here yet. It is coming, no doubt. It’s just that we are still in a season of waiting and that season is called Advent. Advent is all about waiting. And for what are we called to wait? Well a gift of course… The gift of birth… The birth of Jesus. During Advent we wait for the miracle of new life. In the Celtic tradition, Advent is similar to darkness and both are known as the time to prepare and wait for new beginnings.
This idea of preparing and waiting for new beginnings is why I appreciate the placement of today’s scripture in the Lectionary calendar. You see, while the world around us is rushing as hard as it can into Christmas, or the celebration of the birth, today’s scripture isn’t about the gift of Jesus’ birth, it’s at least partly about waiting. Yes, the birth will happen. Yes, the unbelievable gift of new life will happen for both Elizabeth and Mary, but this gift… This birth… Shouldn’t be rushed. In fact, this birth can’t be rushed and the sooner we realize that the more profound the joy that the gift brings with it becomes because when we stop trying to rush the events of our lives, we actually start living right where we find ourselves.
If you are like me then you know how easily you can succumb to the desire for instant gratification. Why wait, when you can have it now? That mentality is so intoxicating and when we live with that mentality, it seems, we end up forgetting about the natural flow of the created seasons. It is as though we have decided we get to manufacture it all. We get to decide what we want, and more importantly, we get to decide when we get it. The thing is, when this becomes our way of approaching life, we have no idea what to do when we are called to prepare and wait. And when we don’t know how to prepare and wait, then we’ve lost touch with the world our God created. When we don’t know how to prepare and wait, we’ve lost touch with the joy of receiving a gift. When we don’t know how to prepare and wait, we’ve lost touch.
This past week as I drove to work one morning, I passed another church. This church happened to be one of those that has a marquee in the front. You know, those marquees that contain an ever-changing message of someone’s choosing. I have always found the messages on these things quite funny, but I felt a different emotion when I read the message on this one. I felt a sadness when I read the message on display for all to see that today, this Sunday, that church is celebrating Christmas. I’ve thought about that message a lot since reading it, and I’ve been sad every time. What happened to the fourth Sunday of Advent? What happened to the period of time needed to prepare and then wait for this gift of new life? Isn’t Mary still pregnant?
You see, there is a rhythm to these things and I believe we need to protect that rhythm. Today is Sunday, December 23, 2018. It is the fourth Sunday in the season of Advent. The season that calls us to prepare and wait for the gift of birth, both Jesus’ and quite possibly our own. Today is not Christmas, but Christmas is coming, and that is the most promising good news for all. It’s just that Christmas is not here yet, and that is OK. In fact, if we take Advent seriously, our preparation and our waiting will make the joy we experience in receiving this gift of new life even better than we could have imagined.
I’ve shared with you all before how much I love Christmas. I always have. Being able to celebrate Christmas… Being able to celebrate this unbelievable gift of new life, is special in so many ways. But the only way we get to truly experience all that this gift has to offer is by taking seriously the need to prepare and wait. Having that time to prepare and wait is actually a gift too. It is the gift of the Advent season. And by taking advantage of this gift of Advent, not only do we prepare and wait for Jesus’ birth, we also prepare and wait for the birth of new life within ourselves. And when we embrace this possibility for ourselves then our experience of Jesus’ birth actually becomes an experience we embody. And that my friends is a powerful gift.
So, for these next two days, feel around and see where new life may be kicking and punching inside of you because Christmas is coming. The gift of new life is right around the corner. But please don’t think you can rush it because when you do you might be missing the other gift… The gift of Advent. The gift of preparation and the gift of waiting. I pray that we all accept these gifts of Advent and luckily, we still have two days to do so.
Amen!
