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 Despite my history with neatness, I enjoy having a
clean space and welcoming others to a meal, to listen to vinyl
records, or to share a sunset beverage. There’s a lot that goes into
hosting, yet the irony is that most folks always say, “Oh, you
didn’t need to clean for us. Just being together is enough for us!”
It’s easy to lose focus trying to be neat and tidy that I overlook
the importance of simply being present.
This makes me think about the seasons awaiting us at the end of the
year. For many Christians, we have entered into the liturgical (or
church) season called “Advent,” meaning arrival. Each Sunday leading
to Christmas, we light candles to guide us in preparing for the
Christ child, the Light of the World. Many churches decorate their
sanctuaries, host Christmas pageants, have potluck meals, Christmas
parties, or ornament exchanges, and on and on…. Inside and outside
the church, December is a blizzard of activity, and what we call
“the holiday season” turns out to be the most stressful time of all.
In preparing for all the things, we may experience
contrasting emotions: when I was a child, I was eager, but now as an
uncle and pastor, I am frazzled and sentimental, respectively.
Perhaps you can sympathize with me. We might glow during one moment
at the thought of reuniting with friends while the next finds us
utterly alone. Hope mingles with dread. Anticipation dances with
despair. We may sense the season’s deeper meaning, but we reach out
for it in vain or are too tired to appreciate Advent’s rhythms and
the joy nearing us at Christmas. In the end—despite our
preparations—we are frustrated and drained.
It is easy to forget the reason for the season.
This is why I love the Gospel according to Mark. It was the first
gospel written, and it doesn’t include a birth narrative about
Jesus. Instead, Mark begins with the proclamation of good news—the
arrival of God’s promised reign on earth. Unlike those of Matthew or
Luke and beyond John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, Mark
doesn’t prepare us for Jesus’s arrival. There is no shining star, no
lowing cattle, no Mary or Joseph; there is only Jesus.
Jesus called men and women to follow him, brought
inclusion to those considered outsiders by their community, offered
hope to those cast aside because of appearance, and extended love to
those left alone. This portrait of Christ is what I appreciate about
Mark’s gospel. This Jesus was messy; there wasn’t anything neat or
tidy about him.
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When he wasn’t in the Temple declaring how the faith
community’s leadership had become self-righteous holy huddlers, he
was calling out local officials for policies that excluded folks for
racial, gender, and sexual prejudices. Mark’s good news tells
us how messy and transformative the Incarnation (God in human form)
really is.
Advent is more than a season of expectancy inviting us to light
candles and place gifts under a tree; it is also about readiness for
action, watchfulness for every opportunity for justice, and
willingness to risk everything for the life-giving Love of God’s
reign. To live in Advent, we must be present to the world around us.
To recognize the Christmas Incarnation—who became our Easter
Resurrection—we must be reverent and humble.
Sometimes, we must clean house, tidy our tables, and have a party.
There is also a time to be present, to act for justice and peace,
and to prepare our hearts for the beginning of the good news: God is
with us, even now!
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