Happy Thanksgiving! I hope this holiday is filled with gratitude, joy, and rest, as we give thanks, and with understanding and deepening awareness, as we seek to see things from different perspectives.
On Sunday, we begin the new church year with the season of Advent. As the season of fall begins to give way to winter, the church offers us Advent, a period of four weeks preceding the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. The word means coming, arrival, and not only connects us to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem long ago, it also connects us to the expectation that Christ will come again – in the fullness of time, and it invites us to practice making space to receive Christ – now, in our hearts, in each other, in our world.
Often we talk about advent as a season of waiting, a time to cultivate a sense of yearning and longing. It seems that we’ve had a lot of that these past couple of years. We are living in this in between time, slowing returning to normal – or whatever normal now is – but with some hesitation and uncertainty. And I think we are doing a pretty good job of it. These past couple of years have reminded me just how remarkably adaptable and resilient we are.
This year, I’m choosing to focus on what it means to make space to receive Christ – now. I’m choosing to focus on practices that remind me to turn towards God, again and again. What helps you turn toward God?
For Advent, I’m going to spend time dwelling in a small piece of scripture from Luke’s Nativity story – The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people.” (Luke 2:10) This is what God’s in-breaking into the world means, “good news of great joy for all people.” Another practice I’m intending to adopt this season is a breath meditation, reflecting on the rhythm of our inhales and exhales. When we inhale, we fill up, we breath into the space within, and when we’re paying attention, we slow down and expand into more spaces. On the exhale, we release, we let go, we empty, so that we may be filled up again with breath. And the cycle repeats. One of the ways the Holy Spirit is known to us is as wind, as breath. As we inhale, the Spirit fills us, and as we exhale, we make space for the Spirit to fill us again.