Rev. Dr. Devin Strong
Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church
In seminary, I was taught to keep the season of Advent separate from Christmas. For Christians who celebrate it, Advent is the four Sundays before December 25th.
It is a season of preparation and hopeful waiting. We prepare for the coming of the baby Jesus in the manger, but we also think about Jesus coming at the end of the age and that time when the whole universe is as it was meant to be.
I was trained not to sing Christmas carols until Christmas Eve. As a young pastor, I dutifully tried to keep that rule for a while, but there are two big challenges: first, if we wait until Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols, that leaves us only that night and the one of two Sundays after Christmas to sing all those great songs, and second, most of the Advent hymns in our tradition aren’t very singable. They are slow, mournful songs of waiting. So I gave up that “rule” early in my ministry. People like to sing Christmas songs!
Still, I have tried to keep Advent for Advent. My wife insists on putting up the tree and other Christmas decorations on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and I have long gripped that it is too early for Christmas.
We should honor the waiting, I say. Of course, I have completely lost that battle, not just in my house, but also in our larger culture.
To the extent that our culture celebrates Advent, it begins the morning after Halloween, with only a brief hiatus for turkey and mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving Day! I have been among those Christians who bemoan this cultural reality, and I have heard myself saying, “The Christmas decorations go up in the stores earlier and earlier every year!” It is true that secular Advent starts sooner than it used to, and if we are not careful, we will soon see reindeer next to the Back-to-School supplies!
But maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Liturgical purity aside, perhaps what people are really reaching for in Advent is hope. We love the songs and the gifts, the lights, and the cookies. I have noticed that even people who don’t celebrate the religious aspects of the holiday love “the feeling of Christmas.” Perhaps what we all love are the warm memories of holidays gone by, the simple focus on family and friends, and the spirit of generosity.
In this messy and polarized, expensive, and hectic world of ours, we all need a reset to something that grounds us and makes us feel hopeful. Maybe that’s why stores have Christmas decorations up on November first! Of course, the cynical part of me also thinks that it’s a marketing ploy. If they can get us in “the Christmas spirit,” then we will spend more money, right?! But if even our irreligious culture can help us tap into a deeper need for meaning and hope, then I can live with Christmas trees before Thanksgiving.
As a Christian, I simply want to say that feeling of connection and love that we all hunger for is not going to come from the latest gadget or a beautiful sweater. It’s not even going to come from a delicious meal and a wonderful time with family. It comes from a baby born in a manger, the Son of God willing to walk beside us.