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This Advent is shaping to be one of the most challenging in my lifetime. Here are three ideas I’m trying to keep in mind as I process this season and prepare for Christmas.
Sermons from Commons Church. Intellectually honest. Spiritually passionate. Jesus at the centre. Since 2014.
Wanna talk about Christmas and that's not surprising. It's Advent. I'm a pastor. I get it. But not Christmas in general.
Speaker 1:I wanna talk a little bit about this Christmas in particular today. Because this is going to be a Christmas unlike any that we have experienced in a very long time certainly unlike any Christmas that I've ever experienced in my life and the truth is that's going to be hard. To be fair Christmas is often a hard time for many people who've experienced loss or loneliness throughout the year I get it but this year we are more in touch with the season of Advent than perhaps we have ever realized Advent is all about the waiting, the trusting, the hoping that something is good and it's on its way toward us. And the scriptures frame this in that sort of cosmic sense of all creation longing for the day when all things would be made right but as we wait for the all clear to see the family and for a vaccine to make things safe for return to hugs and meals and church and gatherings in some small way I think we all sit distanced from each other but in solidarity with everyone who has ever known that the world could be made better and hope that one day it would be.
Speaker 1:Christmas is all about the fulfillment of that hope that the earth can be repaired, that we can be healed with it. Advent is about all of that, not just the joy but the waiting for it, not just the celebration but the longing for it as well. And so what I want to suggest today are a few ideas to put in your toolkit to help you wait well in this season. Now this is certainly not the end of it. These are a few ideas that have been helpful for me over the past couple months and in particularly over the last couple weeks as we've moved back into a second shutdown here in Alberta but maybe you've got some habits or rhythms that have been healing for you, by all means share them in the comments here maybe somebody else can benefit from them I'd love to see what you're learning in this season as well but here's my toolkit for lockdown Advent.
Speaker 1:The first idea is this, don't try to keep busy. In the first round of this pandemic I had a lot to keep my mind on, a ton of things to be busy with and that was, probably actually really good for me. We had a lot to figure out here at the church to get online quickly and there were very real problems to solve that kept me engaged and excited about my work in a time when a lot of the things that I loved like speaking in public were taken away but I've noticed already in the second round that this has been more difficult for me, partly because my tendency has been to try to create more things to be busy with and right now for me, a lot of the early emotional energy that I put into busyness has probably caught up with me. Truth is I'm just really kind of tired. Remember, emotional energy and physical energy all come from the same energy pool.
Speaker 1:And when your need for one ramps up, you can't just overcome that by asking for more from the other one. You you just run out of energy. So slowing down and resting is actually an integral part of reflecting on what's happening inside of us because the energy we need to do the reflecting is the same energy that we expend doing the doing. Look, I'm not saying to go sit in your basement and be sad. In fact, go outside for a walk, appreciate the beautiful weather that we've been having in Calgary right now, write Christmas cards, connect with people online, do all the things that are good for you and for them.
Speaker 1:But do them because they're good for you and for your mental health, not because you're trying to distract yourself from what you're really feeling right now. A walk outside can do wonders to raise your spirits. I do it twice a day with my dog. It's part of my ritual every day. I love it.
Speaker 1:But it's not because it distracts me from what's happening. It's because it puts me in touch with a bigger, sometimes truer perspective of all the things that are happening around me right now. Being active and engaged and varying activities is healthy and good, trying to stay busy so that we don't have to face what's inside of us or what we're sad about is not. Which brings me to a second point, feel what you feel. And I know probably all of us have heard this one one too many times before, it's basically a cliche but the truth is a lot of us are not good at feeling our feelings and this is coming from someone who's actually terrible at feeling their feelings but this isn't just about being sad we're all sad right now, I get that, this also can be about joy, I think a season like this, I think we can often start to buy into the narrative that we are supposed to be depressed and therefore when we are happy for a moment, when there's a little bit of joy that sneaks in, think sometimes we honestly we just talk ourselves out of it.
Speaker 1:Don't do that, please don't, enjoy it, celebrate it, lean into it. The world is exceedingly complex and that means that there's almost always some mixture of different emotions that are appropriate responses in any given moment. So don't run from them, embrace them. Of course, if you're sad about not seeing family the way that you're used to, that feeling is good and it's holy and it reminds you to take that and transform it into new investments when you're able to. Think about all the times that sometimes we we wait until Christmas to reach out to our loved ones or to schedule a visit with family and maybe this year that lack as a reminder becomes the commitment to make those rhythms a much stronger part of the ongoing patterns when we're able to coming out of this pandemic in the future.
Speaker 1:So understand that this season will pass and you'll be able to use these lessons to move you forward in healthy ways coming out of it. That's part of the Advent story that what you are longing for is on its way towards you, things will get better. But that doesn't mean we should push our emotions off into the future. We need to feel them now as they arise. We need to embrace them as they come to us here in this moment.
Speaker 1:And I'm reminded here of Jesus who upon learning that his friend Lazarus had died broke down in tears just before he raised the man from the dead. I mean think about that, he knew that he could raise him, he knew that he would raise him and yet that moment knowing that his friend had died it was still sad and he embraced it all. So just knowing that this season will pass doesn't mean it's not worth mourning. Be aware of everything that's hard. Now doesn't mean you shouldn't and smile and be joyful about the good that you find in this moment as well.
Speaker 1:Feel what you feel, embrace it, lean into it, don't let it overwhelm you but be honest with yourself about it. Finally, this is what I'm putting in my tool kit. Don't be afraid. And by that I do not mean do not listen to health concerns or do not follow public policy. Absolutely you should do all of that.
Speaker 1:What I mean is don't let fear drive your decision making right now. Wisdom, care, concern for those around you, all of these are so much better reasons to take this virus seriously and to follow all of the guidelines that have been put in place for us than fear is. Fear might keep you safe from the virus for now but it's also going to open you up to all kinds of other stressors that have all kinds of very real mental and physical tolls they take on us. For me that's not just about the virus it's about making decisions for both the church, about public openings, about budgets and forecasting, there are all kinds of things to be afraid of right now and we certainly shouldn't ignore any of them. But look we are fully integrated human persons and our mental health will impact our physical health, will impact our spiritual health and all of those things back the other way as well.
Speaker 1:So if we let fear take over to protect our physical health we can pay for that in all kinds of mental and spiritual ways. And so instead we can choose wisdom, can choose caution, we can choose care, we can choose grace to guide us instead of being afraid. And look if we're gonna take this Advent season seriously, a season all about hoping and waiting for a future that is just out of reach, then the single most familiar refrain here in the Christmas story repeated over and over again is do not fear. Mary is encouraged not to fear the message of an angel, Joseph is encouraged not to fear the choice to continue in his marriage plans. The shepherds are told not to fear the blinding brilliance of a divine host in the sky.
Speaker 1:Even Zechariah's, this old man is told not to fear the idea that he has been forgotten by God. And over and over again, at Christmas, fear turns into courage, fear turns into care for one another, it gives way to truth telling and hope for what will one day come to us. And that is a really good story to lean on right now. That the things that scare us can turn us toward each other with grace and peace if we choose. So, here's what I'm learning this Advent.
Speaker 1:To not let fear drive my choices, instead to lean into wisdom and grace and care for my neighbor as what moves me in the world. To feel what I really feel right now in this moment, if it's sad, if it's joy, if it's celebration, if it's calm, to let myself feel it as I need to. And then to stay active, to stay engaged, but not to try to make myself busy when what I really need is to rest or reflect. And honestly all of these have seemed to get both harder and more important the longer this season has dragged on. But my prayer continues to be rooted in this Advent hope that has guided and sustained communities of faith for thousands of years.
Speaker 1:That good is on its way toward us and that the thing we long for most in the world, even when we struggle to articulate it, is already on its way. May the grace of Christ find you this Advent season. May the Christ child greet you with joy this Christmas to come. If you've learned some new ideas to help yourself move through this pandemic season, this Advent season in a good healthy way physically, mentally, spiritually, by all means share them. I'd love to learn what you're learning as well.
Speaker 1:Maybe someone else can learn from it too. And by the way, if you've made it this far in the video, hit subscribe, hit that bell notification, that way you'll get a notification when we put new videos up and also when church is available on Sunday. Merry Christmas.