Winter is a dangerous season for people who live in cold climates. Farm animals often are killed by the bad weather. In some places, roads get muddy and become rutted, making travel difficult. Cold weather lowers resistance to infection. Before modern medicines were invented, most human deaths resulted from bacterial infections. In times past, some families would run out of food or fuel during winter. People had to work closely together to help each other survive.
The coming of winter can be a frightening time because the nights are growing longer. The prophet Isaiah used the example of falling leaves to speak about our longing for God at this season. "We all fade like a leaf, and our wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away. For you have hidden your face from us."
Advent is a season to name our fears. We struggle with them. With God's help, we see beyond them. We can do none of this alone. Like people who help each other through the winter, we keep Advent together, as Church. That's the only way to make it through safely.
One of our helpmates during Advent is the Blessed Virgin Mary. During Advent we remember the expectation of Mary, when she waited for the birth of her child. Through the message of an angel, she heard God's word and kept it. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and in her body the body of Christ came to be.
Waiting for the birth of a child is a lot like Advent. There is a strange mix of happiness and contentment, along with nervousness and fear. Advent is a season of waiting. Keeping Advent well is practice for all the other times in our lives when we must wait.
For what is the church waiting during Advent? The 25th chapter of the Book of Isaiah tells us one reason: We wait for the day when God will remove the veil that separates people and nations from one another. When that happens, we shall see things as they really are.
Another of our Advent companions is John the Baptist. He prepared the way for Jesus. He lived in the wilderness, and people were so fascinated with him that they went there to hear him speak. John said what they didn't want to hear: He told people what was wrong with them and what was wrong with the nation. Imagine John standing in a shopping mall during December. What might he say to us?
Like John's preaching, the message of Advent can be hard to take. But unless we face it, we are not ready for the coming of Christ.
The season of Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. At Christmas we will welcome the coming of the Christ into history. During Advent we do whatever is necessary to make ready for Christ's coming. In preparation for Christmas we invite others to feast with us. We write cards to keep in touch. We clean house. We shop. And every so often we take a break so we can remember why we're doing all this work. What ever we do, we also do it for others.
Advertisers make the mistake of beginning the Christmas celebration too early. If we imitate them we can get overloaded. That takes the fun (and the point) out of both the preparations and the celebrations.
Christmastide begins after sundown on 24 December and lasts till sundown on 5 January. There will be plenty of time for parties and concerts and caroling and all the other joys of the season.
But for now, it is Advent. Advent has its own joys. Families may light the candles of an Advent wreath or open the little doors of an Advent calendar. They might keep the saints' days in Advent as a way of preparing for Christmas. Many people get the Christmas tree and lights and other decorations repaired and ready so that all these wonderful things can be used to welcome the Savior.
In the quiet of Advent we make ready to hear angel songs. In the darkness we prepare to be dazzled by the star of Bethlehem.
(Adapted from Companion to the Calendar by Mary Ellen Hynes for Liturgy Training Publications.)