by Andrew Book

Last Sunday we began a season that many in the church refer to as Advent. Advent is a time of preparation for Christmas, a season where we are invited to prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus, and a period to prepare our lives to be changed by God coming to us as a poor, homeless baby. Outside of church circles, Advent has fallen out of favor as we are ready to jump straight from Thanksgiving to Christmas, but I think that Advent matters!

As a society, we have incredible technology at our fingertips that has made waiting no longer necessary for much of what we do. If we want to connect with someone around the globe, we can do it now (I was sending messages to my brother last week without even knowing that he was in Morocco). If we want to order something, it can be here tomorrow. We no longer need to plan ahead because everything we want is available now. As a result, for as many times as we might say to one another that “patience is a virtue,” the reality is that patience is not a skill we excel at in this day.

A favorite phrase for many people today is “I can’t wait!” Maybe it is the release of a movie we are anticipating or a vacation we are looking forward to. Or, maybe it is Christmas. We say, “I can’t wait for Christmas” as we look forward to gifts and celebration and maybe even the beauty of a Christmas Eve worship service. When we say, “I can’t wait” we are saying that the time between now and then is time that we would prefer to disappear. We would prefer it to be Christmas Day because the weeks of Advent between now and then are more an inconvenience than a season which has its own joys, hopes and challenges.

Advent people substitute the word “prepare” for the word “wait.” Instead of empty waiting where our time is simply something to be passed in anticipation, Advent says that we are in a time of preparation. Time spent preparing is valuable time. It is necessary time that will allow us to be ready when the day comes. Advent people recognize that as much as we are excited about Christmas, we can wait and we need to wait because we are not ready. We are preparing.

Before Jesus began his ministry, God sent someone to prepare the way for him. That person’s name was John the Baptist and John could be considered the patron saint of Advent. John’s ministry was all about preparing people to meet Jesus. He called them to change their hearts and their lives (Matthew 3:1) because someone was coming who would transform everything they knew. John told them that the time for deciding to live a life that “bears good fruit” is now. He told them they shouldn’t wait because there is one coming who is so incredible that even a prophet like John is unworthy to untie his sandals (Matthew 3:8-12). Many of John’s hearers took these words to heart and they were ready. In fact, some of Jesus’ first followers had been John’s disciples when John first recognized Jesus as the one sent from God (John 1:35-50).

Advent is a good time for us today to prepare ourselves as well. It is a good time for us to think hard about John’s call to change our hearts and our lives. What is your heart like? Do you have a heart that is open to receiving the Son of God as a poor, helpless, homeless baby? Do your actions reflect the love of God which sent Jesus into this world? We spend a lot of time preparing for the gift giving part of Christmas as we shop, put gifts together, and even make gifts, but I hope we will take time to use Advent as a period to prepare our hearts and reflect on our lives.

At Courtland United Methodist Church, we have a lot of preparation going on. Our children and youth are hard at work preparing for our Christmas musical (Dec. 20 at 5 p.m. and Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. if you want to join us). Our mission team is preparing turkey baskets that we will be giving out to families in need. Our worship team is preparing for Advent and Christmas Eve worship. The most important preparations, however, are the ones going on inside each person. We are preparing our hearts and our lives to welcome God come down as a vulnerable infant.

We would love to have you join us as we celebrate Advent!

ANDREW BOOK is the pastor of Courtland United Methodist Church. He can be contacted at 653-2240 or andrew@courtlandumcva.org.