ADVENT 2014 : Are You Prepared to Anticipate, Adore, be Awed?
Guarding the heart is a very serious job, and if there was every a time to be more at guard, there is no time like the present day in which we live. As Christians we must be diligent in our pursuit to live cross centered lives; and have a constant and ever growing desire to exemplify our union with Christ in every area of our lives. With that in mind, I am often reflecting on how to be more cross centered and culturally relevant especially during the holiday seasons. I find myself asking , how do I- my family remain focused on the main thing that fuels our belief as Christians and how do we encourage others to be set ablaze with the glorious truths of the Cross especially in the busy drizzle of life.
"We guard our hearts against worldliness , so that we may treasure Christ more and live in Anticipation, Adoration and Awe of His glory "Here are just a few of the thoughts supporting my internal inquiry. It seems that in the past 5 years or more, there is an incessant rush that occurs from the first of October through to the New Year. Somewhere in our recent most present time , our culture has turned up the speed dial on Thanksgiving and Christmas almost to the point where many are feeling that we have missed something important. This sense of "missing something" is all over our dialogue and in our everyday talk these days; especially after a trip of a supermarket, hardware store or the local pharmacy.
There is an overwhelming presence of holiday decorations in October for Thanksgiving, and as the month of November is barely unveiled , it seems that retailers have decided that we can jump right over Thanksgiving and begin to draw consumers in for Christmas. Everywhere we look ,we are bombarded with commercials that point us to this state of urgency to buy gifts, lay-away options, Black Friday deal and cyber Monday's must haves. It is no wonder we've lost a sense of true Anticipation, Adoration or Awe for the seasons.
The narrative guiding the traditions of Thanksgiving and Christmas appears to have been hijacked by consumerism. Hijacked in the sense that consumers have no voice in the matter of the stocking of shelves in stores. One might argue, that retailers are responding to the demands of the consumer; hence, the supply. Yet, I'd inquire further as to whom is this demanding public, desiring and begging retailers to overwhelm shelves with pre-holiday items. Truth be told, though many crave for a few more hours or days to get ready for any respective holiday celebration, I find a vast majority of people feeling more frazzled and panicked became of the overwhelming commercial stimuli all around.
There seems to be no life left in the hostages to fight for the days when , we knew that Thanksgiving was in November and there was a delight , a sense of excitement about what that meant to our society as a whole, that is, families coming together; charities being present in the community sharing with the poor and disfranchised. The same can be said for the sacredness of Christmas, and how warm and fuzzy one would feel just mentioning this long-held and dear celebration of the birth of Christ , especially to the Christian faith. It seems presently there's an erosion in our ideals of what is sacred and what is not. Many would say these traditions are important and sacred to the very fiber of our society, yet we allow, by participating in the frenetic activities of heading to the store on Thanksgiving night to beat the lines and enjoy sales-- a new tradition now among Black Friday Shoppers. Many are pushing away from the Thanksgiving table early, or even opting out of traditional dinners and gathering because they want to be prepared to "hit the stores early", only to find chaos and misleading advertising realities.
So, is our swapping our traditions for bottom dollar sales really worth it? Are we really loosing something in all this shuffle and hurriedness ? I believe we do! We loose a sense of Anticipation , Adoration and Awe. We become apart of a cycle of people shuffling from one event to another, not staying long enough in one place to breathe in its value and graces. We jump from one holiday to another, forgetting the historical back stories and elementary truths that made those traditions in the first place and how those traditions have impacted our society and its people for generations. In all the hustle and bustle, collecting of new gadgets and new versions of our favorite toys and tools; we've missed the delightfulness of gathering families and friends for the simple treasure of fellowship and creating memories that money cannot buy. We've forgotten that traditions are to be passed on for the posterity of a society and civilization. We've seemingly traded in being charitable and concerned for collecting more for one's self and one's domain.
But, is it too late to do something about our individual role in this mad shuffling of people and money? I do no believe so! It is our charge as individuals to find ways to slow down the odometer of life and to force out the intrusive mentality of consumerism that plagues us all. It is up to us to wait out the retailer's war among themselves, and as consumers demonstrate that we want to control the narrative about when we buy and when we celebrate our traditions. The narrative of retailers promote their financial bottom lines only; while society at large suffer without even realizing it, because what's being offered is not really a bad thing, and after all we need this anyway...so why not?
How will you slow down or not participate in the loud calls for hurried shopping and frenetic activity over the next 6 or so weeks leading up to Christmas and the days after into the New Year?
We suggest sticking to the traditions you already have in place which celebrate families getting together and fellowshiping long into the evening over good food, fun games, strolling through photo albums and watching videos of family and friends present and past. From time to time add a new tradition to keep your families and friends wanting to return to the legacy of what makes your family "your family"
We suggest adding an Advent program. Advent is a celebration of the coming of Christ Jesus. It is a tradition that will bolster your anticipation of Christmas as a family. Children and adults alike will come to enjoy your time of coming together to reflect on scripture, sing carols and hymns, make crafts and pray together. Whether you meet nightly for 20-30 minutes or on one specific night of the week, your family will benefit greatly as you together really dig deeper into the miracle of the Christmas story.
“Radical obedience to Christ is not easy... It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.”― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American DreamBelow you will find some Advent Devotionals and Activities.
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