I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have a hard time connecting with the Christmas season. It’s all a bit much for me: the Christmas cards, the decorating, the baking, the crowds and the gift-buying, the traditions that turn into expectations. It’s all just a bit much sometimes.
I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Maybe you can relate. Maybe Christmas feels more painful than cheerful this year. Maybe you’ve lost someone or are walking through a season of depression right now. Or, maybe you just feel apathetic towards the Christmassy things you’ve always engaged in. Maybe you’re having a hard time stomaching the circus that Christmas has turned into over the years.
I know people who are fighting crippling anxiety on a daily basis this Christmas season. I know people who are dealing with cancer and chronic illness. I see broken marriages, crumbling families, loss, grief, loneliness, joblessness, mental health struggles, and intense spiritual battles raging during this Christmas season. It’s not exactly easy to have a Holly Jolly Christmas while you’re staving off bouts of darkness and despair.
If you’re like me and you can’t quite muster enough Christmas cheer to get you through this time, consider Advent.
“In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
-John 1:4-5
Advent is more, far more, than simply a countdown of days leading up to Christmas Day. It is more than a cute calendar with treats hiding behind little doors and it is more than lighting a few candles and singing a few songs. While Christmas can feel culturally hijacked by secularism, Advent is a time for singular focus on the object of our faith: Jesus Christ.
The beginning of Advent is somewhat of a mystery. Most historians believe it began sometime in the 4th or 5th century, but no one knows exactly why or how it began. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus which means “coming, presence.” Traditionally, Advent has been a time for the church to focus on not only the birth of Christ but the return of Christ as well; it is a recognition that Christ has come and that Christ will come again.
As we look back to the birth of Christ and forward to his return one day, we also acknowledge the space we find ourselves today. Between the first and second coming of Christ, he presently indwells us today. Christ is here and now. Jesus, Immanuel, sits with you in your current longings.
Often, the Christmas season deepens our pain and highlights our suffering. Our difficulties stand out against an illuminating backdrop of lights and cheer and jingle bells. Advent, on the other hand, feels like a holy space where we can stop and rest. Advent invites us to grieve and lament. We are encouraged to press into our longings and wait for the light of God to illumine our dark places. Advent welcomes the tension we carry in our hearts and it honors the places in us that long for renewal. Advent is personal, intentional – it is full of reflection, stillness, waiting, wondering, and hope for Christ’s return where all things will be made right (Revelation 21:4-6).
So, if you can’t get excited about gift-wrapping, remember: Christ has come. When you get bogged down by crowds and lines and traffic, remember: Christ will come again. When you feel the weight of sorrow in your heart and the hearts of those around you, remember: Christ is present with you, in you. When it feels like Christmas is nothing more than a western, secular celebration, remember: Advent.
It’s perfectly ok to set aside the eggnog and the tinsel this year in favor of quiet contemplation. God cares far more about you pondering His adventus than how decked out your halls are. Your desire for God this season is far more important than your adherence to cultural Christmas customs. At the end of the day, Immanuel, God with you, is all that matters.
If you’re interested in engaging more deeply with Advent this year, I love this Advent prayer below which comes from the Liturgy of the Hours.
If that feels like too much, then you can pray a simple Advent prayer that Christians have prayed for hundreds of years: “Come, Lord Jesus.” May you experience the love of God this Advent season as we wait for our Lord Jesus.
