First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2016

 (During Advent there will be an additional,  new post for each Sunday each week.)

                Let’s get serious now. It’s Advent, a time for quiet, contemplative, spiritual reflection.  Everybody, heads bowed, on your knees, look humble, even penitent if you can pull it off!

                It is NOT yet Christmas as the liturgical purists will insist. There will be no singing “Joy to the world! The Lord is come” because the Lord does not show up until Christmas Eve at the earliest.

Hey you, no peeking in the manger just yet!  Mary and Joseph haven’t even hit the road yet, never mind gotten to Bethlehem. There will be no “joyful and triumphant” before its time.  Advent is sounded in the minor key of “O come, O come Emmanuel”.

There will be no premature Christmas. We know how fortunate humanity is to have Jesus in the world? But Jesus is ours; he belongs to us;  we, liturgical professionals,  know best when and how to bring him in the world. So, close your eyes to all that pre-Christmas stuff on TV; plug your ears in stores when you hear Silent Night or O Holy Night. We just can’t trust the world to get it right. Liturgical philistines. Ritual barbarians. Irreverent boors.

OK, who put the Three Wise Men in the nativity scene? Good grief, that is for Epiphany, not until January. What’s next? People wishing each other Happy Easter in the middle of Lent, before Good Friday? Sacramental heathens. Worship hooligans. Heretical pagans.

John the Baptist, Zachariah, Elizabeth, Joseph and of course, Mary – these are the stories of Advent.

Once upon a time, I, too, cared about all the proper etiquette of Advent. But after a while, I came to realize that it was really, really hard to keep Christmas out of the Advent Season. The ordinary person  was, and is, hungry for Christmas, longing for its light, colour and joy. They wanted to break in jubilant song whether it was November 27^th or December 25^th. They wanted to embrace Jesus sooner than later, knowing full well that on December 26^th Christmas quickly begins to fade. They wanted to celebrate the coming of hope, peace, hope and love (worthy themes of Advent) even if it means putting Jesus in the manger right from the get-go. They wanted to get to Bethlehem and see that which has come to pass as soon as possible. They would then linger, sing the same carols over and over again, ponder this in their hearts, wish each other a very Merry Christmas, and do it all over the next week, if possible.

So, go ahead, deck those halls. Dust off the nativity set. Sing a lively Christmas carol or two or three. Get in the Christmas spirit, today. Don’t wait. I don’t think that Jesus will mind if you start celebrating his birthday a little early.

“The true light which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world,” (John 1:9).  This implies some sort of continuous action, an ongoing process, a constant progression.

All together now: “Joy to the world; the Lord is come.”

Dale