advent: it's about more than Christmas shopping

Have you thought about Advent lately? Really thought about it?

Most of you who read this blog probably have given Advent quite a bit of thought... but even considering that, it's worth the discussion.

But, let's gut-check this, for a laugh, if nothing else.

Is Advent:

- the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, during which, anticipating the advent of piles of presents under the tree, and copious amounts of food at Christmas dinner, we run around the mall and grocery store like headless (and uncharitable) chickens, getting every last good deal we can?

-or-

- the time marked out by the four Sundays prior to Christmas, during which we anticipate the advent of God-made-man?

The correct answer is fairly obvious, but for anyone who might not be sure, it's NOT the first one!

I think Advent and Lent have some interesting parallels. Both recognize the need to prepare for very certain transitions: Advent, preparing for the coming of Christ into our temporal world, and Lent, preparing for Christ's death and resurrection... preparing for Christ's return to the non-temporal.

During Lent, we always talk about "giving things up." We usually don't talk about that during Advent, but maybe we should. It might help to remedy some of the vicious buy-buy-buy consumerism that has largely overwhelmed the Advent season in our culture, and it would certainly help us focus on what's really important.

Which isn't how many Furbies are left on the shelf at Wal-Mart.
Or how many Christmas cookies you can gorge yourself on at the office Christmas party.
Or gossiping about how many Christmas cookies your coworkers just gorged themselves on at said party.

No, I'm not saying you should give up dessert at the next Christmas party you attend... although, given the incessant gluttony that has come to be associated with such festive occasions, it might be a sacrifice worth considering (I know this is true where I spend my work days). ;-)

But really, what we should think about (in my humble opinion) is about is not so much giving up dessert... but giving up ourselves instead.

Mary offered herself up to bring the Christ child into the world - to bring salvation to mankind.

What if we think about offering ourselves up (though obviously not quite the same way Mary did!) - to bring the light of Christ into the world? Every year when we celebrate Christmas, we are, of course, celebrating the birth of Jesus - but we're also celebrating the fact that, just as Mary was the God-bearer, we who call ourselves Christian are called to be God-bearers, too.

I am reminded of one of the invocations used at the distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday - "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."

What can we turn away from this Advent - whether sin, or simply things we don't really need - in order to bring the light of Christ to the world? Only a week and a half into Advent, it's not too late to figure it out, and get going.

+peace and good.