Reading
The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”
Matthew 3:3 (NLT)
Reflection
On the Friday after Thanksgiving, many of us follow familiar traditions. Some spend the day watching football, enjoying leftover turkey from the refrigerator, or simply relaxing with family. Others climb into the attic to retrieve the tree and decorations, marking the unofficial start of the Christmas season.
Only a day after the Thanksgiving feast, radio stations have free rein to fill the airwaves with Christmas music—songs that, for better or worse, will play on repeat until December 25. It seems as though we move directly from Thanksgiving mode—a time centered on gratitude—into Christmas mode. What’s interesting, though, is how these weeks before Christmas can become more focused on what we hope to receive than on what we might give.
How about if we make it a point this post-Thanksgiving weekend to spend some time with one eye still fixed on gratitude?
Even as we move into the season of Advent—which begins this Sunday—we can make that transition with grateful hearts. A grateful heart expects good things because it trusts that God is good and will continue to be good. Such a heart stands ready to receive the goodness of God and, in time, becomes eager to give. For Christians, a steady movement from gratitude into expectation fits the meaning of Advent, a season rooted in hopeful waiting. We shift from preparing our hearts in thanksgiving to lifting our eyes toward Christmas, when we joyfully receive the gift of Christ.
On the one hand, it’s a time that is filled with excitement, as we count down the weeks and days until we commemorate the most profound birth in history, the coming of the Christ child into the world. On the other hand, it’s also a time to be quiet and inward-looking, because we are preparing our hearts for the fullness of Christ to dwell in us, work through us, and move all around us in the world.
In Advent, we seek to empty ourselves and clear a pathway for God, setting aside whatever clutters our faith. Like John the Baptist, we try—through prayer and focus on God—to clear a way in the wilderness for Christ’s coming, and we soon discover that much of that “wilderness” lies within us. As we make space for Jesus’s arrival, we remember that this preparation need not be somber.
In the expectation, as well as the introspection, there can be an underlying sense of joy, because the ultimate hope that’s in Jesus has already happened for the world and is already here among us. And when we commemorate Jesus’s birth, we get the joy of re-living what it means to welcome a savior!
However, I humbly acknowledge that, for lots of people, Advent and Christmas are not always times of joy. Many carry the pain of a loved one’s death near the holidays, or feel the ache of an empty chair where someone once sat. Others remember heartbreaks such as divorce, family estrangement, or the sheer exhaustion of carrying too many responsibilities this time of year.
Perhaps there’s someone you know who could use some company or a kind phone call during the Advent season. This may be precisely how Christ is inviting you to let gratitude become generosity—by offering the gift of your presence to someone whose day you can brighten.
Prayer
Lord, the dishes from the Thanksgiving feast have barely made it through the dishwasher and we’re already setting our minds on Christmas. We ask, O Lord, that you might slow us down enough that we can spend some time in prayer, preparing our hearts for the joy of Christ’s coming. Help us clear out the wilderness of our hearts, so that we can joyfully and expectantly invite Jesus to be deeply present in our lives. Help us to move fluidly from gratitude toward expectation and onward toward generosity. Amen.
