Advent

One

The First Sunday of Advent 

I have an Icon of the Nativity, the birth of Jesus, in my little chapel at home. Jesus lies in the manger in the cave of Bethlehem in the center of the scene (Yes, it was a cave that served as a barn). The baby Jesus is surrounded by Mary and Joseph, the Magi, the shepherds, and the Angels. And we can’t forget the animals, the ox and the ass and the sheep. All the usual suspects.  

Christmas Day is the moment when all these characters see for the first time what they have always longed for. They see God.  

Now take away all the characters and leave the manger empty. Put Mary and Joseph back in Nazareth with Jesus in her womb. Place the Magi back somewhere in Iran or Iraq, ancient Persia. Put the shepherds, well, who knows where the shepherds were, put them with the sheep somewhere. And put the Angels back in Heaven.  

And what do they all have in common? A longing for God that causes them to set out for Bethlehem, to the cave, to find Jesus. 

That is what Advent is all about. Advent is not a time to sit back and wait. It’s the time to set out on the journey to seek Jesus fueled by a longing for God.  

Two

What distracts you from going? 

It’s amazing, the Magi will go to great lengths to see Jesus. But when they come to Jerusalem and ask, “Where is the infant king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.” King Herod and the whole of Jerusalem heard about this, yet as far as we know, no one went to Jerusalem. The Magi come all this distance and the people of Jerusalem can’t even rouse themselves to go down the road a short way. 

What distracts us from setting out to seek Christ in a greater way? 

Are we trying to do too much, have we said yes to too much? Are we distracted by our screens, news, email, notifications, social media, sports, shows? You spend more time on these than you will admit so you think you have no time to go in search of Jesus. Is your life out of balance? Too much work, too many activities, have you said yes to too much?

The deeper question is why do you keep running? Are you afraid to face yourself?

We always make time for what we love.  

Advent is the time to decide what we love most and put our time there. 

Three

Prayer 

It was their longing for God that prompted the characters in the nativity scene to seek Jesus. 

Prayer is to become a longing for God. Prayer is the way we increase our desire for God and it is the way we travel to union with Him.  

If we love and value God above all else and want union with him then our highest priority must be prayer. That doesn’t mean you don’t have other things you must and want to do. It just means friendship with Jesus in prayer is first. Put prayer in first every day and you will reach union with God. 

Leave prayer for last and you won’t do it. As C.S Lewis wrote, “put first things first and we get the second things thrown in; put second things first and we lose both first and second things.” 

Four

I want to suggest something to you.

Today, the beginning of Advent, set up a bare Nativity scene in a place in your home where you and your family can spend time longing for God, for that is what prayer is, becoming a longing for God.  

Commit to a specific amount of time. Thirty minutes is the bare minimum for a good conversation because it takes time to get below the surface. Don’t give me excuses. Whenever I ask people how long is needed for a good conversation with another person everyone says at least thirty minutes. Wouldn’t the same be true of friendship with God? 

A good one-two punch is to spend time each morning before the Manger, longing for God, then each evening gather and pray the Rosary before the Manger again.   

Finally, you will need silence. If you can’t find silence, put on your earbuds and a white noise app. Shut off all notifications and external distractions. Take a book with you to the Manger – Scripture or some writing of a Saint. Then read a little, reflect on it, and form a concrete resolution to put into practice. But most importantly, just sit before the Manger and long for God. 

Five

We can make December about many things: The décor, the gifts, the food. Completing all the business and work projects before the end of the quarter. All good things. But if that is all December is, then Christmas will come and go, and you will be dissatisfied. 

If you want to be satisfied, then remember what the season of Advent is for, setting out on a journey to seek Jesus, fueled by a longing for God.