Embrace reality of season

Find peace amid chaos

In The Episcopal Church, as with other Christian liturgical traditions, we are in the middle of the Advent season, a time of waiting, anticipating, and reflecting on the birth of the Christ Child and the coming of Christ in any given moment. We light a candle each of the four weeks of the season to mark the time and watch the light increase. These typically colder and shorter days give us a nudge inward to reflect spiritually. It’s not Christmas yet, not a time for jolly gathering and flurries of activity. Be still. Be quiet. Abide in anticipation for what is to come, building up the expectation and all that it means.

A friend just sent me an Advent “contemplation” that basically summed up our tradition’s invitation to stillness as a bunch of phooey. We may claim a call to slow down and reflect, but we’re just as busy in the church as shoppers are online and in stores and as caregivers are in providing for others. I feel the tug to slow down and think deep thoughts alongside the demands to get everything done.

The message my friend shared, however, said that our hustle is faithful, too. We are preparing ourselves, our faith communities and our homes for something to happen. For Christians, we are celebrating what was — the birth of Jesus — and what is and is to be — the presence of Christ with us. How we do that isn’t going to look one way. We don’t always like to share this reality, though. Sharing a card with glad tidings and a photo of our happy, smiling family is more socially acceptable than showing the strain and grief of life in a pandemic — kind of like the narrative and songs of a silent, holy night don’t quite capture the reality of a young woman and her partner giving birth in a stressful situation.

Now seems as good a time as any to be honest about the fullness and complexity of our lives lived in relationship with one another and all that is holy. For instance, if I can let go of the notion of slowing down these weeks to glide through the season with amazing awareness and presence, then maybe I can take that desire and intention to slow down into the moments when they do arise and realize the peace and calm. And when the chaos and busyness take charge, I know that the peace that passes understanding is on the other side of the moment, waiting for me. In shifting my expectation, I have made myself more receptive to living into the reality of now. I can honor what is perceived to be good alongside that which we normally try to avoid.

We will keep time and do what we choose, but maybe we don’t have to make it harder than it already is by adding unrealistic expectations. We can share what is real because this is what we have. All we have is one another, and wherever we are, God is with us, waiting for us to receive and share the gift of love.