Wake Up
/You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.
-Romans 13:11
A new church year begins this Sunday (Lectionary Year A) and so it’s time to wake up! Just as we start each new day waking up, Advent invites us to enter the new church year waking up - starting fresh, re-imagining, and listening anew. Every year Advent reminds us that life is not something you can live on auto pilot, and that in order to claim the abundant life we are offered, we need to be wide awake - watching for signs of God’s presence, love and power all around us. We’re called to wake up to the good news that shines out from all the cracks in our ordinary lives - rays of light we might miss if we’re moving to quickly to notice them.
Wakefulness? As winter approaches, it feels like a great season to hunker down and nap more than usual! But here’s the thing about Advent. When the snow or cold keeps us in, or the darkness slows us down, or when we have the chance to take more inward time and more quiet moments in silence, we discover that silence is the medium through which God speaks most effectively. It’s also the place in which we can hear God more clearly - away from the hustle and bustle of our usual schedule. So, ironically, quietness, returning and rest is what Advent wakefulness is all about, and being over-busy and over-scheduled is like falling back asleep to what God is hoping to show us. Could it be that our holiday craziness is a way to avoid hearing God? It’s something to ponder this year.
So as Advent begins, I invite you to slow down the pace a bit, to listen more than you speak, to be curious and observant toward all the people and situations that come your way. This is an Advent practice - to be still enough to wake up to Christ’s presence afresh.
