It’s the season of Advent.
I know. Despite the faux “War on Christmas,” secularism celebrates Christmas before Thanksgiving. Christmas decorations and gifts have been on store shelves since October.
Most large cities in the US have had a tree lighting ceremony by now. My local stores have decorations up in their storefront and windows. Our secular culture doesn’t celebrate Hannukah or Ramadan like this. There is no secular “War on Christmas.”
But as Diana Butler Bass points out, there is a “War on Advent.”
That’s because according to the Christian calendar, it’s not yet the Christmas season. Christmas doesn’t start until Christmas Eve. But Advent runs during the four weeks before Christmas Eve.
And the Advent season invites us to do something that I personally don’t like.
Advent Invites Us To Be Patient
Advent invites us to be patient. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus. It means “arrival.” Advent invites us to wait for the coming of Christmas and the arrival of Christ into our world.
But who has time for patience? The world is busy. I have to keep up with all the things.
Job. Family. Friends. Shopping. There is no time for patience!
But what if the constant busyness of my life is part of the problem?
Advent is important because it calls us to wait just a little longer for the joy of Christmas.
That’s important because if we skip over Advent and run right into Christmas joy, we can miss the importance of patience.
The Coming of The Prince of Peace
In the Roman Empire, Caesar would travel from city to city. The people of the city would wait for the advent, or arrival, of Caesar to the land. Caesar would bring the good news that he was the Son of God, the Light of the World, the Savior, the Prince of Peace who had come to bring peace to the world.
And if anyone had a problem with that, he would kill them. Often on a cross.
It is in that context that Christ came into the world with a different message. The Advent of Christ gives a subversive message to the Advent of Caesar – that the world is not made better through impatient violence and the threat of violence.
Rather, the world is made better through patience, love, and mercy.
That message is as revolutionary today as it was 2,000 years ago.
I don’t need to tell you that the spirit of the Advent of Caesar continues to infect our world. We all see violence and the threat of violence all around us. Christ was born into such a world, and so are we.
Our culture doesn’t want us to be patient. It doesn’t want us to wait for the Advent of Christ. Instead, it wants us to be busy with things that distract us from the mission of Christ. Even the celebration of Christmas joy can be a distraction from seeing that the way of Caesar’s violence is still a dominant force in this world.
Making Room For Patience
I am not saying that if you have already put up Christmas decorations that you should take them all down until December 24. I have my decorations up. But, I am saying that the patience of Advent is important. I constantly need to remind myself that it is good to make room in my life for patience.
For the early Christians, this season was a reminder that they weren’t waiting for the Advent of Caesar, who made peace through violence.
Rather, it was a reminder that they were patiently waiting for the Advent of Christ, who makes peace through love, nonviolence, and justice. Of course, they also knew that Christ was arriving into their hearts every day of the year, inviting them to live into the way of patience, nonviolence, and love.
I hope you have a great – and patient – Advent season.
