Advent Preparation

Along with Lent, the liturgical color for Advent is purple. The purple seasons are seasons of preparation. In both seasons, there is a theme of introspection. In my experience, Lent tends to be a time of very personal introspection; we think out our sin and how to live a more righteous life and we prepare for remembering Jesus' death in Holy Week and his resurrection on Easter so that we can be personally more grateful disciples, better disciples, so that we can celebrate all that Easter accomplishes for us.

Advent, when we focus on Advent and not the coming secular retail Christmas, is a different kind of introspection, a different kind of preparation. I think the phrase that catches me in Advent is "the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." First, it's plural. I've always thought that there were individual poor people who longed for God's intervention, but still, even this image is of a mass of people. Not just the poor who will be fed by loaves and fishes when Jesus comes, but whole regions of poor people and that multiplied by time as well--whole generations of poor people. These are among the people who walked in darkness.

Luke says "Blessed are the poor," but Matthew says "Blessed are the poor in spirit." There are many ways that people need to be fed. Even a rich kid can hunger for approval and building up their self esteem. Everyone needs a little affirmation to ward off depression from time to time. Tragedy does not respect status or wealth, and everyone can be thrust into a circumstance of grief. These, too, are among the people who walked in darkness.

In our Advent introspection, we might think about individual things like the need for hunger and self-esteem and relief from depression or tragedy or grief, but don't forget to scale up to class and community. All those poor people who will be fed loaves and fishes by Jesus are poor because of unjust practices and policies.

Tyre was a rich Greek port city with a healthy middle class practicing commerce, but the surrounding agricultural region was full of poor people--largely poor Jewish people--who worked hard to grow crops and feed the rich people in Tyre. The people who walked in darkness are also oppressed people. Herod controlled power and wealth and played politics with the Roman empire at the expense of his own people. Matthew is the Gospel with the story of the slaughter of the innocents. No one is oppressed as an individual, but as a member of a class that is being oppressed. Poor Jewish farmers outside of Tyre were oppressed. Hebrew slaves in Egypt were oppressed. The people who walked in darkness were the oppressed people of history.

When we are being introspective in Advent and thinking about our sin, we should not forget to think about our collective sin, the ways we participate in systems of unjust practices and policies. Amos pointed out (in an angry-prophet kind of way) how the culture of ancient Israel "sold the poor for a slipper." How do our fashion choices contribute to the oppression of the poor? Sweatshops making sneakers in southeast Asia come to mind, but I'll be honest, I don't know the conditions in the places that make my Cowtown boots. I should take Advent introspection as an opportunity to find out. The people who walked in darkness longed to be freed from their darkness. Preparation during Advent is all about connecting to that longing and hoping for that light which leads us out of it.

Hope, in Advent, overshadows our suffering and sin and introspection. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." The story of Advent is set in midwinter when all is dark. In Matthew, the magi follow the light--the light of a star. Light, even the small light of a midwinter star, is a symbol of hope in darkness. The magi followed the light of that star, and it led them to God incarnate, Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus is the way out of our darkness, the darkness of suffering and sin. Tripp Fuller, in his blog post, "Grounded in the Manger: Finding God in the Dirt of Matthew's Christmas Story," points out that the magi "Take the other road." When they follow their light, and find the Lord Jesus, they turn their back on empire. Fuller says, "True allegiance to God’s kingdom requires a different way—refusing to comply with imperial tyranny."

Introspection, the introspection of ourselves or of our societal systems, is not about making us feel guilty. Not that there's anything wrong with guilt--John the Baptist preaches "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near." Guilt fulfills its purpose in repentance. John also says, "Bear fruit worthy of repentance." Repentance fulfills its purpose in righteousness. Introspection is about transformation. The magi followed the light of the star, and we should shine light on our individual and cultural sin and that light of self- and group-knowledge should lead us out of darkness. Whatever brought us to Advent introspection, it prepares us for something. It prepares us for change. It prepares us for the change of repentance. It prepares us for the decision to become disciples of Jesus and to ever strive to become better disciples. It prepares us for our Christmas encounter with Jesus and it prepares us to follow a different road after that.

Advent is not just about wallowing in our own introspection; how we could live life better and change. Advent is also about preparing us for something we're not used to. Advent is about preparing us to receive a good thing. Advent is about preparing us to live in the light and to enjoy all the blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven.

What is it we're going to receive? My vision, my hope for the future is what I call the Beloved Community. It's slightly different than the original use of that term. Nineteenth century philosopher Josiah Royce assumed there was a community of people you love and used that to explain the phenomenon of loyalty. My use is closer to that of Howard Thurman and Martin Luther King. Jr. I imagine all of us loving each other. The Beloved Community is not a given. Sadly, not everyone has one. The Beloved Community is a rich, happy, thriving life full of loving relationships. The Beloved Community is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Where does my life--where does our life--fall short of the Beloved Community? How are our habits of distrust, complaint, and control a compromise because we don't live in the Beloved Community? What would our lives be like if we trusted, supported and served one another? There's work to do to get past our bad habits. That's part of the preparation of Advent, too. There's work to do to even be able to conceive of what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like. That's part of the preparation of Advent. We walk in darkness now, but we know where the light is and we're following it. And when we get there--ah HA-- then we will laugh like those who dreamed and are now awake. We will no longer be following the puny light of a midwinter star, we'll be walking in midday sun. Then we'll be loving and thriving together, just as we've prepared to do all through Advent.

--Chas