Next Sunday Is NOT Christmas Eve (at least not in the morning)...

Be careful next Sunday or the Liturgical Police will get you!

Let's get one thing very clear, next Sunday (morning) is NOT Christmas Eve. You can be certain at St. John's Church in Decatur, AL we will first celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Then, the hard work of many will transform our church into a place fit for the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord. Why is this so important? Well, I'm so happy that you asked.

The "Christmas Creep" is a real phenomenon. Many Episcopal clergy, along with clergy people of other denominations, have lamented with good reason the loss of the Season of Advent, as Christmas decorations go up so early that even Thanksgiving seems like an afterthought. You may not be worried. You may think, "What do we lose when we lose Advent?" Well, we lose looking forward with the People of Israel for the coming of the Messiah long ago. We lose looking forward to God coming to fulfill all things at the end of time. And, we lose looking around to see God coming to be enfleshed with us right here, ,right now.

While the twelve days of Christmas, which (oh by the way!) start on December 25th and run through January 6th, capture some of the same themes of Advent, much of what we celebrate during those days are the Nativity narrative of Jesus of Nazareth (shepherds, angels, magi, etc.) and not the anticipation of those events. So, you will excuse me when I want to defend all four Sundays of Advent, for if we lose even one of them we lose much of the hope, anticipation, expectation, prophecies, and simplicity of the Season of Advent. Take for example this coming Sunday morning, if we skip over it then we lose God's Annunciation to Mary. Of course, all of this looking ahead may speak to a larger problem today.

We have a patience problem in society today. I say "we" because I may be the chief culprit in lacking patience. People tell me, "Don't pray for patience, God might actually give you a chance to practice it." GOOD! It's as though we think we have the patience of Job when it's really more like we are Abraham and Sarah waiting for a son. When all we do is look ahead racing to get to the next thing--or as seems to be the case among some of my fellow Episcopal clergy letting Advent 4 slide because well, it's hard to ask people to be patient--then it appears to me we are not walking any significant journey of faith with God. For following Jesus is not always easy or simple or fun or exciting or quick or timely or enlightening or positive. In truth, the way God calls us to walk often gets messy. Just ask Mary who we will miss if we skip over next Sunday morning (Luke 1:26-38).

Mary minded her own business in Nazareth long ago. Out of nowhere a messenger of God came to say, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." Mary though, heard these words not with exceeding joy, but like we might hear a telemarketer on the other end of a phone call who says "Congratulations! You've won a free trip to the Bahamas!" Skepticism, perplexity, and wonderment filled Mary. Sensing the hesitancy Gabriel, the messenger, threw God's cards on the table: do not be afraid, God has found favor with you, and through you, God will bear the Savior of your people and the whole earth. Sound good? Mary could not at first comprehend how this would happen and asked the most practical of questions, as the Common English Bible translation bluntly puts it, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?” It's a good question. At some point later this week I intend on exploring more the Angel's response, but for now I am fascinated with Mary eventually going along with this messy plan of God coming to dwell among us as the means of our salvation.

Mary's response to the courier of God speaks volumes to what our own calling might be not only when dealing with petty church calendar issues (yeah, I know I'm ridiculous), but also with the largest challenges of our lives. Nancy Rockwell's well shared article from two years ago about the mistake of thinking of Mary simply as a supplicant, reminds us that saying, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word," does not come easily. In truth, Mary embodies for us the challenge of waiting--that is even hearing a difficult vocation, saying yes to it, and then carrying through with it. Mary models for us a fulfilled faith that, though full of struggles and challenges--just think of Mary standing at the foot of the Cross thirty something years later-- continually responds to God's call with yes. Though in this day and age, I wonder if we will ever even hear God's call to us to be faithful in the first place. If we are too focused on what comes next will we see and hear the magnificent messenger of God saying to us, "Greetings favored one!"? Will we have the opportunity to know that nothing is impossible with God? Will we miss the chance to bring God into the world?