Happy New Year!
The season of Advent is now upon us and with it a new church year.
Advent (from the Latin Adventus: “arrival”) is the busy – some might say hectic – time of preparation before Christmas. There is an abundance of things to do. Calendars are packed to overflowing, especially if you have school age children. We can be so overstretched with “to do’s” in these brief weeks that it can be difficult to find any peace. So, let me ask this: what are you going to give up for Advent?
Give up? you’re thinking. Aren’t you a bit confused? This is Advent, not Lent. Lent is when we traditionally give up something we enjoy like chocolate or coffee. True, but Advent also used to be a penitential season just like Lent. And fasting was the main activity. Can you imagine that now? How can you fast with all the cookies and treats that abound at this time of year?
I wouldn’t ask anyone to give up delicious holiday food. No. But, I would ask you to give up something equally fundamental: time. Among this abundance of food and holiday parties, celebration and good cheer I would ask you to give up a few minutes each day to waste time with God.
I used the word waste purposely. In our culture, where you have to be constantly “doing”, where you always have to be in motion, just sitting quietly with God can appear to be a waste of time. In reality, there is nothing more important. This quote from Henri Nouwen has been very helpful for me –
“In our utilitarian culture, where we suffer from a collective compulsion to do something practical, helpful, or useful… contemplative prayer is a form of radical criticism. It is not useful or practical. It is simply to waste time for and with God. It cuts a hole in our busyness and reminds us and others that it is God and not we who creates and sustains the world.”
Too often our priorities are distorted. Busyness is valued in our world, but busy doesn’t always equal important. Are we really so busy that we can’t spare a few minutes with God to center ourselves for the activities of the day? Martin Luther, who routinely spent two hours each morning in prayer, spent an extra hour praying on those days when he was going to be really busy. He wanted to make sure that his “busyness” was connected to God.
I have so much to do that I shall spend the first
three hours in prayer.
Martin Luther
Few of us feel called to spend three full hours in prayer. But, we can find the time that we need. Make a place in your house – a quiet room, a special chair – that is dedicated to prayer. Being in the same place each day can help focus your prayer. If you’re like me and you like to be in motion when you pray, go outside for a walk. Perhaps the best place to pray is when you’re in the car. Turn off the radio and open yourself to the presence of God. Be creative. Whatever works for you is the way you should pray. The hardest thing to do is to just begin.
What I’m asking is countercultural. Advent has become a time of addition, not subtraction. It has become a celebration of abundance. But, giving up a little bit of your time to be with God is more than worth the effort. Sometimes less is more.
Divine Overtones 