O Come, o come, Immanuel
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel!
Today is the first Sunday in Advent. If you’re unfamiliar with Advent, it is the penitential season leading up to Christmas Day. It is for the purpose of preparing oneself spiritually for the celebration of the Birth of the Christ Child and also for His Second Coming. Traditionally, during a penitential season one chooses to withhold something from one’s life that is a detriment to spiritual growth and/or health. But the point is not to just leave a hole; rather it should be filled with something good and productive, such as reading and study of the Scriptures or prayer or good works. Carrying it further, I’m sure that the idea is that the new practice will become a habit, replacing life’s time-wasters with more important things of a God-centered, God-honoring nature.
When I was much younger and didn’t fully understand the practice of “giving something up for Lent” that my liturgical friends would talk about, I thought the whole idea silly. Perhaps I perceived a lack of real commitment on the part of the practitioners to do anything more than make a show of some religious ritual. Or perhaps I simply didn’t understand the concept. Most likely, it was a combination of both.
But I do get it now. Sometimes, as a busy wife and mother, Advent and Lent sort of sneak up on me, and I feel unprepared to tackle another thing on my list of to-do’s. But this year, I sort of got a jump on Advent and have already made mental plans on how I will spend it (i.e., the thing I’ll give up and what will replace it.) My prayer is that I will succeed in being diligent in my attempts to increase in the knowledge and wisdom of the Lord. Though I may write about it here, my prayer is also that I will not be driven to boast about my achievement, whatever level it may be. The hope? That the result will be quiet, understated growth in me to the benefit of others and the glory of God.
How will you spend Advent?
