The Heart of Advent

I find it jarring to read today, just a couple weeks before we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, about the preparations for the Last Supper and the plot that led to Jesus' death. A clergy friend of mine just wrote a blog post about his spiritual practice at the beginning of Advent every year. In the post, he said that he likes to read the new Gospel for the year in its entirety during the first week of Advent. Doing this puts the story in full perspective as he prepares his sermons. I think this is the answer to my jarring feelings. Just because we are preparing for Christ's birth does not take away from the rest of the story and what led to our redemption in the savior's death and resurrection.

In other words, this Advent season is a time to look at the whole story to prepare ourselves for not only the birth but also the life and death of our Lord. Just as the disciples made preparations for the Last Supper and for Jesus to come and sit with them around the table, this Advent season, we, too, prepare for Jesus to come and sit with us at the table. This is at the heart of the Advent season, a time of waiting, preparation, and anticipation.

As we began this second week in Advent, I started my week in reflection. On December ninth, I celebrated my fifth diaconate ordination anniversary or as some call it ordinaversary. That day five years ago was beautiful and the culmination of seven years of anticipation, waiting, and preparation. A few weeks before my ordination, one of my professors and advisors took me aside to see how I was doing and if I was ready. We had a little back-and-forth conversation, and then she gave me some advice; she said, about a week out from my ordination, I should read over the examination (which is the part in the ordination service, pg. 543 of the BCP, that the bishop asks the candidate for ordination if they truly feel called to the work of a deacon followed by some questions). She continued that this would give me time and words to focus and ready my heart, allowing me to examine my life and allow room for Christ. I do this every year to remember my ordination and the vows I took, but also as an Advent practice.

To prepare my heart for Advent.

Just As Jesus gives precise instructions to his disciples about where they should go and what they should do to prepare the Passover, we are reminded that Advent is a time for us to prepare ourselves as well. Just as the disciples had to act in faith and trust Jesus' words, we must prepare our hearts for Christ's coming.

This preparation is not just about practical things—though those can help us focus our hearts—but about cultivating a spirit of readiness. Advent invites us to examine our lives, clear away distractions, and make room for Jesus. It is a time to reflect on how we can fully welcome Christ into our lives.

I now leave you with an Advent poem by The Rev. "B" Lloyd, retired director of the Episcopal Appalachian Ministries.

Advent

Thanks!

Oh yes,

Spirit of Celestial Seasons

—Seasons of the heart,

Thank you

For placing us squarely on the threshold

Of this solemn ground of anticipation

—Advent,

To look for the Christ's coming

in his birth

and in his coming again.

'Tis in this Advent Season

You beckon us to prepare our hearts, our minds,

our spirits,

For these, YOUR epiphanies.

Stir our whole being into awakened anticipation,

That in the deep recesses of our innermost being,

We may grasp along the way of time and space

Glimpses of these glories You so readily would share,

the Majesty, the Mystery of Your Incarnate Love,

That we may ponder these awesome,

break-through moments

----------- AND WAIT ----------

The Rev. Bryan Callen, Rector, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Ardmore