Halfway Through Advent

According to Sister Carol’s Advent Devotional, this is the third week of Advent. What? The third week? How did that happen? I, for one, have been so busy for the first two weeks of Advent with rehearsals, performances, concerts, and meetings, that I feel like I have already been through Christmas. In the midst of it I was lamenting the notion that I’d be done with all the hoopla Saturday when I attended the glorious Voices of Ascension Christmas Concert at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin on 46th Street. You see, I’m the kind of person who likes to be busy. I keep my schedule packed and I’m on the move from the moment I leave the house in the morning until I lay my head on the pillow at night.

Then, at some point on Sunday I stopped to breathe. I had been worried that I wasn’t going to have anything to “do” for the last two weeks of Advent, and then I realized that’s how it is supposed to be. Advent is a period of waiting, of expectancy. And so now, rehearsals and concerts complete, I wait. I am expectant. I don’t really know what I’m expecting. I think I’m supposed to say “the baby Jesus” or “to be born anew through the Lord’s incarnation” or something like that, but I don’t really know. For the next two weeks I’m just going to try to stay out of the way and wait.

Two things that help me along in this waiting are Sister Carol’s Advent Devotional which I suggest everyone pick up. If you don’t have one already, you can get it at the switchboard or you can even just click on the Marble website (Marble Advent Page) to find each day’s reading. The other thing is a book that Ken Dake, Marble’s Director of Music, gave me called “Bread of Angels,” by Barbara Brown Taylor. This book is a collection of her sermons, each chapter 5-7 pages long. It makes a perfect retreat from the world and gives me something to center on for awhile. It helps me to wait.
Will you wait with me? I’d love to hear what it is you do to stay present and expectant during this hectic season. Email me, if you’d like at matthewbeams@gmail.com.