Advent: Jesus in a Teacup

 It may seem to you that I haven’t written a blog post in a while. That’s because I haven’t. I was trying to convince Judah earlier that my surgery left me with a blockage of my creative juices. Fortunately, I have one of my favorite holidays to write about, and hopefully that will loosen the blockage.

Recently, I’ve had quite a few people ask me about Advent, especially since at our church, we’ve just started celebrating Advent with our young adult group… for the first time ever. Not surprisingly, many of them didn’t really know what Advent was, seeing as our church does not have a liturgical or very traditional background. I also did not know what Advent was until my college years. Unfortunately, as my leadership and speaking skills are not the best, I wasn’t able to accurately teach my fellow young adults what Advent is really all about. Since my writing is better than my speaking, I’ll aim to do that here. Let me start with a little vignette:

Ever since I was a little girl, my mom and I would decorate the house for Christmas the day, or the weekend, after Thanksgiving. One of the first things we would do was set up our Nativity. To this day, that is still the first thing I do.

 

As you can see, something is missing. In fact, the most important part is missing.

That’s right. I keep Jesus in a teacup, tucked away on a shelf.

That’s the way we’ve always done it. We usually kept our Nativity in the front hallway, or somewhere you could see it frequently. So every time you walked by it, some small voice inside would whisper excitedly, “The Christ is coming!” Amongst all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas parties, shopping, wrapping, baking, and all other things holiday-related, we were always reminded of what our hearts were waiting for. Unknowingly, I was celebrating Advent. Even without traditional Scripture readings, candle lightings, and special wreaths, I was preparing my heart for a day of celebration. And then on Christmas Eve, after going to church, we’d place the baby Jesus in the stable and celebrate the Light, God in human form, that entered our world of pain and brokenness.

And this is why I love Christmas. To me, it is far more than just a day to get together with family, eat good food, and exchange gifts. It is a season of re-focusing, quieting my heart, and rejoicing in the birth of my Savior, who was waited for and expected to be the One to make the world right.