Attention: We
Interrupt "Christmas" to Bring You This Advent!
The Voice of the Advent Candles
A "FIRESTARTER"
Spiritual Essay by Rev. Dr. Benjamin Berinti, C.Pp.S.
I’m sure it’s
just not my imagination, but I think I’ll ask anyway. Within the past several
weeks, hasn’t the “noise” increased considerably? No matter where you go, the “sounds
of the season” are pressing upon us (whether you asked for them or not!);
the “voices” of Christmas are clamoring for attention, pushing us around
like an old schoolyard bully! The “muzak” is wafting, oh so subtly,
through the speakers of our favorite stores, just enough to warm and soften our
hearts (and to make our credit cards more pliable, too). Veritable menageries
of mechanical dolls are singing, dancing and playing Christmas tunes, everything
from Mickey and Goofy to Koala bears and kittens. The sweet sounds of bells
echo on street corners and sidewalks. As pre-holiday traffic increases, the
not-so-sweet sounds of car horns and expletives also increase. Friendly chatter
over the selection of gifts, tons of sales help (where were they a couple of
weeks ago when the place looked deserted?) working their finely crafted sales
pitches to entice us into a purchase (rather than “just browsing”),
strangers wishing one another holiday cheer. Church towers play recorded music,
school stages fill with holiday programs, and houses, hidden in relative
obscurity only weeks ago, now undergo serious transformations of color and
sound. And the transformations don’t stop there; people are “transformed” as
well. On the one hand, we seem more outgoing and pleasant; on the other hand,
more demanding and short-fused.
Yes, indeed,
the level of “noise” has increased considerably and will continue to do
so right up until the magic moment of Christmas Day. The “voices” that
shout out to us from behind radios and televisions, sales counters and donation
kettles, wide-eyed children’s “wish lists” and cranky adults’ cynicism,
church pulpits and the sometimes ambiguous stirrings within our own hearts—these
“voices” can well up into an overwhelming cacophony—harsh, jarring,
dissonant and disorienting. So much noise, so many sounds, so many voices vying
for our already strained attention that, at any moment, they could easily run us
over like a mighty steam roller flattening out the asphalt on a newly paved
highway. What sound do we focus upon? What echo deserves our attention? What
voice speaks the words we truly desire to hear, the words we need to hear?
If we stop
only for a moment and allow ourselves a quiet space amidst the din, we will hear
the voices of Advent calling out to us. They are the voices that the
world often tries to silence; for many, they are voices whose tone and timbre
seem antiquated and passé; they are raspy voices, rubbed raw from the strain of
years of trying to be heard above the pre-Christmas rabble. They are
“anti-capitalist” voices, taking the wind out of the sails (“sales”?) so
“necessary” for the economic health of the nation. Despite the weariness
and pain of rejection, the voices of Advent return each year to penetrate these
other voices, like soft, tender shoots reaching forth through a late Spring
snow, gently reminding those who have eyes to see that new life is always below
the cold, hard surface.
As God’s
People, we are once again invited to enter a space where we can allow the voices
of Advent to percolate to the surface of our lives, to allow these voices to
speak to us of God and the promises God has faithfully honored throughout all
generations. In the weeks about to unfold, the Advent voices ring out as
prophets proclaim, Gabriel announces, Zechariah is silenced, Mary responds,
Caesar counts, John cries out, and angels rejoice.
Perhaps the
voices of Advent find their most simple, yet vibrant expression in the
candles of the Advent wreath, those time-honored symbols of the season.
Amidst the confusion and clatter, we rarely mistake these candles for something
else; amidst the overwhelming power of “commercial Christmas” and the
plethora of its signs and trinkets, these colored shafts rise above the noise
and unite us as followers of Christ, daughters and sons of the Light, ready to
once again see ourselves journeying toward the fullness of God’s Kingdom. These
Advent candles, in a sense, have a life of their own throughout this season of
preparation; they come to make their “home” with us in our parish church
and on our dining room table, in the corner of our offices and playrooms; they
come to monstrous cathedrals, regaled in stately, towering arrangements, trimmed
with bows and twinkling lights, or to overcrowded counter tops and sideboards in
family homes, nestled in the unadorned simplicity of inexpensive vigil lights
set haphazardly upon an artificial branch of evergreen, barely visible among the
stacks of unpaid bills, old magazines, and unaccomplished “TO DO” lists.
These
colorful companions for the season carry with them traditional names, one for
each week of the Advent journey: the Prophecy Candle, the
Bethlehem Candle, the Shepherds’ Candle, and
the Angels’ Candle. Each
week, their voices call out through the noise of life’s joys and struggles,
accomplishments and defeats, fulfillments and disappointments. The Prophecy
Candle cries “prepare” as it shares the anticipation of the
season. The Bethlehem Candle whispers “hope” as it urges us to
cradle the Savior in our lives and homes. The Shepherds’ Candle shouts “rejoice”
as we learn of the Good News of our God, the tidings of great joy to be revealed
to all people. Finally, only days before the joining of God and humanity
through the Incarnation, the Angels’ Candle coos “love,” as it
announces the greatness of the One “who so loved our world that He sent his only
Son” to make his home among us!
As the
Prophecy Candle enters into our homes and our hearts this week, the warmth
of its tiny flame aglow, let us be reminded deep in the core of our beings, the
place where all noises cease: It is the coming of our God we anticipate and
for which we prepare ourselves in this Season of Advent; let all else pale in
the light of this great gift!
Index to
Spiritual Essays
Nativity Home Page
|
