As we wait during Advent, may we let go and listen to what’s to come.
…“Waiting on the fringes for the world to end” Love is On Our Side, by Tish Hinojosa.
…“Waiting On the World to Change,” by John Mayer
…waiting as the days get shorter and the nights longer, as we feel the grief of the world, the chill in our souls.
…waiting for the longest night, when we reach back before memory to contact the unknown millions who have gathered in community around sacred fires to experience the light in the darkness, and the hope that the light and warmth will return.
…waiting for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to give Apache Stronghold a decision that will show us the next direction we must take to protect Oak Flat, sacred land
I grew up thinking that the Advent we celebrate in Christian communities four weeks leading up to Christmas is a period of waiting, anticipation, and preparation to receive the Christ child into our hearts and lives more fully.
More generically, advent means a beginning. Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year. Crocuses and daffodils herald the advent of spring. I had conflated the period of waiting and preparation with the arrival itself; I suppose the two are very close together.
If everyone prepared to receive the Divine, even in that act of preparation, our world would experience the actual arrival of the Presence in ways we currently cannot see.
Preparing myself means softening, opening, and letting go of the tightness in my chest that tries to shield my soul from the bigotry and intransigence I feel all around. It means letting go of the binary thinking of this or that, him or her, condemning them or supporting those. It means listening to the silence, feeling the breeze, connecting with the ground, feeding the hungry, assuring the doubtful—myself as well as others—and waiting in the uncertain time and space where, out of control, we can touch the Divine; we can just be. Waiting…hopeful waiting
We pray that the season of Advent brings all of us closer to the Divine and that we listen closely during this period of waiting for guidance and wisdom in our ongoing work for justice.
