The first week of Advent is a time of hope, a time for looking forward without knowing exactly what is ahead. It is a time for building up expectations and getting ready for surprises. Is getting ready for a surprise a contradiction?
That’s the mystery of Advent. That’s the mystery of faith. We expect to celebrate Christmas. We plan to celebrate Easter. We can find special ways to observe Sundays in between, even if this is a year in which we have to adjust our expectations for exactly how we will do that. We can still plan. That’s half the expectation.
The other half of the expectation is the surprise. The surprises of faith are invited in where space has been left for the unexpected. This year has been a training course for dealing with the unexpected. Along with the empty spaces created by adjusted plans and cancellations, might this also be a year in which we can allow hope to create open spaces in our hearts so that we are surprised? Can we say with the church of all ages “Come thou long expected Jesus, the joy of every longing heart.” This Advent season are we open to being surprised by joy? That is the meaning of Advent.
~ Mary Vandergoot
