advent

The title of the song, "It's the most wonderful time of the year" always comes to mind at the beginning of Advent. As that first Candle is lit on the Advent wreath there is a very real sense of both expectation and getting ready - this is the real thing, Jesus is coming.

There are many different Advent disciplines and celebrations - candlelit services, daily routines of prayer and study, Christingle perhaps, and then the more practical tasks of getting things bought and the house clean and thinking about how all the things we want to do go together with all the things we ought to do and how to make all that work in a busy life.

The background of our Advent activity is that this season is about getting ready for Jesus - this should color everything we do. By this I do not mean we have to spend every moment morbidly staring at our own shortfalls but rather that our perspective should be colored both by the expectation of celebration and making sure that we are in a good place to receive Christ into our hearts and lives.

This always involves deliberate action. The time and tide of the world around us is not favorable to contemplation and spiritual preparation - but, as in Lent, we must find a thread of time which can be offered to God alone, each day, carefully and without regret. Even five minutes, if you usually do not give time over each day, opens a window into finding Christ more deeply in Christmas.

If all you do is print off a prayer and stick it to your fridge or bathroom mirror - and stop and read it slowly everyday, you will be heading in the right direction. Here are some resources;

The Church of England online calendar

A page of Advent Prayers

Wikipedia article