My understanding of spiritual life, the ways I live it in the world, are shaped by my experiences. Some of my experiences are gained from my church.
I am part of a liturgical church. One of the things we do is divide the year into liturgical seasons. This weekend we begin a new season, the first season in our liturgical year, called Advent.
Advent is a season of preparation and anticipation. It is not the season of rushing through Thanksgiving dinner to stand in line outside a store. It is not the season of acquiring as much more as we possibly can at the lowest possible prices. Advent is not the season of leftovers, of cold weather, or of endless holiday parties.
During Advent, we recognize we live in darkness and work hard to see light.
Advent reminds us we live in deep darkness. The darkness puts us to sleep. We close our eyes to the important truths of our lives. We do not want to see, we close our eyes, we fall asleep.
Darkness also makes us afraid. We fear the dark and the things we cannot see in it. When we are afraid we hold on as tightly as we can to whatever we have. We hold onto ourselves, trying to protect everything.
It is not only the darkness. Advent helps us remember there is light, even when we cannot see it.
Light is coming in our darkness. We need to be prepared, to know how we will live when the light breaks through into the darkness. We will not want to live the way we live in the dark when there is light.
How can we prepare for light shining in the darkness today?
What do we anticipate about the light that is coming?
[Image by jeet_sen]
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