Pastor’s Pen

​I suspect we are all getting weary from shopping and preparation for Christmas, but the church calls us to get up and Rejoice!  Today, on this third Sunday of Advent we have already begun our new church year.  We are reminded during this season of Advent to stay awake and not allow the routines of our days to make us numb to life.  How often we find ourselves running through our days with no consciousness of anything but the next task.  This season of Advent is supposed to be a slowing down and allowing God to meet us in new places. It’s the call to remember why and for whom we’re waiting.  We are waiting for Christ to break into our hearts in a new way allowing us to find wells of compassion within us, passion for justice for all those treated unfairly, a spirit of reconciliation and inclusion among all of us, and a peace and joy that refuses to allow the struggles to get the upper hand.  We all know how busy these days will be.  The shopping has begun!  We have a choice, though.  We can either fall into place with the rest of America and shop til we drop, or We can stay busy until the first of January and be so exhausted that we have little time to just be with the people we love.  The season offers us another possibility.  We can just stop for a minute and pace ourselves and remember what’s most important about this season.  The gifts will pass away, the meals will be forgotten and all that will remain will be the memories.  It will be the memories of times we laughed so hard we couldn’t catch our breath or the moments of tenderness when we were reminded that we were loved by family and friends, or the times we stayed awake and were able to see the beauty of the world all around us.  We have to stay awake so we don’t miss anything!  This is our moment, or advent, or time of expectation.  We sit in wonder and excitement for all the moments Christ will bring us in this new year.  We always have a choice whether to sleep or stay awake.  We can choose to go through the motions or embrace our days with passion and joy.  We can reject the people who are trying to love us and sleep in our own self pity or we can wake up and enjoy life in all it brokenness and beauty.  I don’t know about you but I want to try and stay awake this year!!