Advent is About Life

Advent is the beginning of our annual cycle of life. We spend time each year growing, producing, and resting; we return to Advent. We anticipate and prepare, ready to receive new life.

Advent is like a living thing. It begins very small, with first whispers and the light of one candle. It grows more vocal and more visible. There are more candles each week, special readings and services, Advent Lessons and Carols. Now, in mid-December, Advent is in full swing.

We began by straining to hear the first notes and murmurs of Advent, and we still listen. We ignite a new candle each week, and light grows in the world. Seeds are sprouting and shoots of new life infuse our days.

We can feel the momentum of Advent giving us life and pushing us forward. The anticipation grows as Advent continues. It is easy for us to get caught up and rush forward toward Christmas, especially with all of our expectations and errands. We forget that we have the technology to slow down and reflect on Advent frame by frame.

The life of Advent is not only the impetus to push toward the light; it is the urge to go deeper, to set down roots that will help us continue growing throughout the new year.

As we listen, and as the glow grows around us, life fills us and sustains us. The life of plants begins with preparing the soil; Advent prepares our hearts for the life that is beginning again in us.

Life is abundant. As we pause to listen and remember, we recognize and appreciate the life all around us, and we begin again together.

Advent reminds us that life is part of our story, that we are preparing and anticipating the life that is coming.

Are you truly alive today?

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