Apocalypse Meow (Advent One)

I don’t know what it is about Christmas trees, but cats just can’t leave them alone.  Or decorated.  Or standing.

We used to have a cat that would climb up into the middle of our Christmas tree until all you could see were her glowing eyes.  The only evidence that she left of her presence were the unstrung lights and broken ornaments. It was around this time that we switched to unbreakable ornaments and pre-lit trees.  Now we have two lazy cats who prefer to just lay under the tree.  Of course, this will be our first Christmas with our rescue dog Lola.  She likes to tear up pillows, so who knows what she will do with a Christmas tree…

This Sunday is the beginning of Advent, a time to put up decorations and prepare for the coming of Christ.  It’s also the beginning of the shopping season, which often threatens to take most of our time and attention.

Advent is my favorite season of the church year.  I love the sense of anticipation, the music and joyous atmosphere.  However, Advent has another side, one that seems to be at odds with the festive feelings.  That’s because during Advent we not only prepare for the coming of the Christ child at Christmas, we also prepare for Christ the King to come at the end of time.  Which can be a little jarring; on the face of it, the apocalypse and baby Jesus don’t seem to belong together – kind of like cats and Christmas trees.  Take a look at some of the readings for this Sunday –

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
    so that the mountains would quake at your presence—
² as when fire kindles brushwood
    and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
    so that the nations might tremble at your presence!  (Isaiah 64)

[Jesus said} the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light,
²⁵ and the stars will be falling from heaven,
    and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶ Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. ²⁷ Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.  (Mark 13)

You’ll notice there’s no Virgin Mary, no shepherds, no manger, no Star of Bethlehem in these readings.  What we do have are falling stars and the shaking of heaven and earth. This year, Advent begins at the end, at the moment of ultimate fulfillment, when heaven and earth pass away.  That may sound a little frightening, but it is actually good news.  We know the end of the story before it even begins:  Christ reigns.  And with the reign of Christ comes peace and justice and eternal joy in God’s presence. So, no matter what happens between now and then, nothing can change the victory of God.

Centuries ago, Advent was a reflective, penitential time like Lent.  In modern times, it has become noisy, rushed and commercialized.  Maybe the blessing of Covid-19, if there is a blessing to be found, is that things have slowed down.  There isn’t going to be as much hustle and bustle as in years past.  That gives us an opportunity to reflect on our faith, and on our relationships with God and with others.  Advent is the perfect time to reach out to those who need to hear that someone cares about them.  It’s the perfect time to bring much needed peace and kindness to your corner of the world.

It’s understandable if we just want to focus on the “happy” side of Advent: the story of the birth of baby Jesus, the faithfulness of Mary and the wonder of the shepherds.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  But, if we do that we miss out on the bigger message:  Christ will return and banish death forever.  There isn’t anything better than that – not even a cat-proof tree!

Happy Advent! May God bless you and keep you well.