Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Momentum and Direction: Advent at a Christian School

A Christmas tree was put up in the main hallway this morning and the calendar turns to December on Thursday. A forward thinking person has placed shovels at all entrances of the school and the lost and found now includes an assortment of orphaned mitts and gloves. Audible evidence of Christmas songs has been heard in the hallways now for a few weeks, first seeming out of place being so early in the fall but now fitting right in with the growing momentum of Christmas less than a month away.

The lead up to Christmas is often filled with the wrong things. I was reminded by a staff member’s advent devotions this morning that one of the first things I ought to start with is not the dusty box of ornaments, or the sequencing of holiday plans, or even the gift frenzy – but sober recognition that I need a Saviour. The cozy feeling of Christmas food, lights, music and ritual might be the direction we are first drawn to, but that is an incomplete picture of what Christmas is about and launches us toward an impoverished participation in a critical part of our faith: recognizing that God become man to save people like you and I.

We know this, and yet we even grow weary of the repeated phrases “the true meaning of Christmas” and “reason for the season.” Habits and traditions, media, and the world of retail seem to try to propel us to a level of hype with so much momentum toward Christmas day that we end up exhausted and disillusioned at the manger on Christmas morn, rather than consumed with awe as Mary was when she sang “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.”

If you were part of the LCES community last year you may recall the Christmas program presentation of
our students that told the story of Christmas razzle-dazzle and spectacle that was a long way off from where we ought to be. This year our Christmas concert on December 21st has the goal of expressing where we ought to start, worshipping, glorifying and praising God for Jesus born for us. No tinsel required. See you there! SJ

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