We've made it around the circle again to the beginning of a new liturgical year. It's time, the Scripture readings are telling us: time to wake from sleep, time to put aside the deeds of darkness and time to put on the armor of light, time to be alert and watchful.
Time to wait.
This time of year always carries a certain amount of contradiction with it. We're anticipating the birth of Jesus at Christmas, so we're getting ready. Of course, Jesus was already born over two thousand years ago...but each year at this time, we remember the events leading up to his birth and the prophets who foretold it. We're anticipating the second coming of Christ, when Jesus will return to earth to bring his kingdom to its fullness...so we get all those apocalyptic-sounding readings about not knowing the day or the hour when the Master will return.
If your family is anything like ours, you're also doing a fair amount of holiday stuff already...rehearsals, Christmas plays and concerts, shopping, baking, get-togethers, and all the other wonderful things that make this time of year seem so special. Sometimes, holding the waiting in tension with the already-doing can feel like an impossible challenge. At best, we end up making some compromises we can live with (sure, we'll wear Christmas pajamas to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade before we've even put up our Advent wreath!) and reminding ourselves that there's no perfect way to do this Advent thing.
Already, but not yet. Emmanuel, God-with-us, is on the way...and also as close as our next breath.
While we're waiting, how about some hopeful and expectant music for the season? Enjoy this playlist for Advent while you prepare for the birth of Jesus and the coming of his kingdom.