Rest and Resolution
I'm not an Advent purist. Our Christmas tree is already up. But I cherish this liturgical season's restful resistance to my own inner noise and to the nearly coercive, consumptive demands of holiday merriment, including pernicious "Christian" versions.
"Restful resistance" is profound permission to hold space, keep silence, and joyfully, willingly, miss out. This is a fasting posture. Doing so helps us to discern and deepen our longings, cultivate our appetence, and prepare for an actual festival of an actual faith. Advent holds reverential space for the Feast of the Birth of Jesus.
The Advent season marks the beginning of a new church year, much like Christian New Year's Day. (Today is not the first day of Advent. It begins December 3, so you're not late to the quiet party!) Just as the Jewish understanding of a day starts with sundown and the day's first task is restful sleep, it seems fitting that we might begin a new year in rest as well.
Yet rest does not conflict with resolution. I often recommit to spiritual disciplines afresh in Advent. If I can convince you of any New Year's resolution to take up this Advent, and be well on your way with it by Jan 1, it would be to give yourself the gift of daily Bible reading -- whether by reading a Psalm a day or embarking on the adventure of reading the entire Bible in a year. (I love using this bubble-off chart that the designer of Paper Haven Ink created years ago.)
Or, this Advent, you might want to practice filling your dwelling spaces with beautiful music. I've been enjoying Tsh Oxenreider's "Advent in the Background" playlist on Spotify. Tsh has a lot of excellent resources on her website for Advent as well.
As always, I'm grateful to all of you for reading. I wish you a holy, grace-filled, word-bathed and restful Advent season.
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