Mary and Advent

I love Advent.

I remember when I was ministering in the Parish I had happily designated myself the “Advent Police,” because I was fiercely committed to us being the counter cultural sign to the world that embodies the Advent spirit. In retail it’s been Christmas since Halloween. In most homes, the tree has already gone up (perhaps even sooner than normal, because admittedly 2020 could use a little Christmas joy)...BUT…let us not forget Advent.

Advent is a time of preparation and waiting. I always say this ironic because we live in a world where we prepare so we don’t have to wait…so we don’t have to “waste” our precious time. We prepare a shopping list so we don’t waste time wandering in a store, we prepare the bank deposit slip so we don’t have to wait in line at the bank. We prepare our arguments before going into a work meeting, so we “can get right to the point.” Here however, we are asked to prepare…and wait.

We prepare and wait for the coming of Christ, both at the end of time, and in the manger at Bethlehem. This reality rightly calls to our mind the image of the pregnant Virgin Mary, who in the months leading up to that first Christmas did her own preparing and waiting. The coming of a child for any family is a time of both preparing and waiting. They prepare because the event for which they are waiting will change their lives forever. What a perfect model for us of Advent.

When a child is coming there are certain things any family does to get ready: we get a nursery ready, we prepare pragmatic things like an overnight bag for the hospital, we plan childcare, and work with the rest of the family to prepare for how this child’s coming will impact other relationships and family dynamics. We change habits: pregnant moms will likely quit smoking or drinking, and try to eat healthier, as they are now so powerfully cognizant that they have another person who depends on them. Expectant families are realistic: while they may daydream about where this child will go to college, they have more immediate concerns to contend with!

Our Advent is no different. We must prepare the nursery: we must prepare a place for him. When Jesus came 2,000 years ago there wasn’t room for him! It should be different when he comes to us at Christmas, if we take Advent seriously. We, like the expectant family, should be pragmatic: what am I doing to prepare? How am I preparing a place for him? How am I tangibly going to make room for him?

Like an expectant family might clean out an old junk room to turn it into a nursery we must do the same. What junk do I need to remove? Maybe it’s time to finally lay aside my hatred for Donald Trump, my co-worker, or that resentment I have been carrying towards Aunt Susie. If anger fills the heart, there is not room for Jesus. Being pragmatic means realizing that Jesus won’t just miraculously remove my anger: I have to do my part. I have to put in my effort. Maybe that comes in the form of something as simple as 1 Hail Mary a day for that person who is currently the subject of my anger. Maybe it’s working on forgiveness. Whatever the case, we must be realistic: we should challenge ourselves, and yet not set ourselves up for failure which will just end in frustration.

We should think about how this child is going to change our relationships and how we engage the world. In short, what are we going to do with this baby once he is here? How will we care for him? Will we hide him for the world, or bring him boldly out into the world. Mary didn’t hide the Christ Child. She kept him safe, but she also had him always in the midst of his people, even as a child as we see in the Gospel of Luke (the Presentation and the Finding in the Temple).

Like the pregnant mother who changes her diet, what do we need to change? Is our prayer life working currently? Are we trying to pray in ways that are not natural for us? Are we trying to be ourselves God, or are we just trying to “people please” our Father in heaven (who we can never really fool).

We MUST take the example of expectant parents in our preparing and waiting this Advent, because just like for any family the arrival of this child will change our lives forever! As the Magi learned, no one can have a true encounter with the Christ child and return the same way they came. The more we prepare during this period of waiting, the more profound our encounter will be at the Manger.

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