“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
When I was a child, I loved the season of Advent. Every practice and tradition of the season including putting up the decorations, singing carols, the lighting of the Advent wreath, the special times with family and friends, parties at school (followed by an extended break from school) all combined to build an increasing sense of anticipation for me as the days progressed towards Christmas. Shopping could sometimes be a bit of a chore, but the stores were beautifully decorated, the Christmas music played in the background, and everyone seemed to be filled with the joy and happiness associated with Christmas.
One of the simple traditions that I really enjoyed during Advent was opening the windows on our Advent calendar. It was a modest, paper calendar much like the one in the picture attached to this message, and it was pretty beaten up from years of use and storage with the other Christmas decorations. Still, no matter what else happened to me that day, opening a window on the calendar would generate a renewed sense of expectation and hope in me as Christmas Day grew closer.
Admittedly, some of these traditions were secular in nature, but they never seemed to overshadow the true meaning of the season as the expectation of Jesus’ birth continued to build all the way up to the final tradition of Advent; a midnight service at the church where my father preached. The feeling of going into church on Christmas Eve and coming out on Christmas Day was incredible, almost magical. Walking out of the church into a city that was dark and quiet truly felt like peace on earth.
Over the years, the season of Advent became increasingly busy as new holiday traditions were added and existing traditions became more complicated. It started innocently enough as Debi and I began celebrating the holidays with each other’s families. When our children were born, a third celebration with just our immediate family was added. As the kids grew older and our circle of family and friends increased, so did the number of events on our calendar and the number of people on our Christmas card and shopping lists. Without question, all of the holiday busy-ness was the result of tremendous blessings in our lives, but before long it felt like the season of Advent had become just a blur of activities that needed to be checked off the to-do list between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Christmas would suddenly come and go and we’d look around and realize that we missed it, or missed the point of it anyway.
This year, our celebrations with family and friends will be curtailed due to COVID. While we will miss the opportunity to meet with loved ones in person, we’ve been given an opportunity to return to a simpler Advent season; one that truly celebrates the birth of our Lord and Savior, celebrates the coming of our Lord and King, and brings hope and peace to a weary world.
To help us remain focused on Jesus during this season of Advent, here is a link to an Online Devotional Advent Calendar. May each “window” you open bring you peace, hope, and joy as you prepare for Christ’s coming.
Peace be with you!
John Petrillo
12/01/2020