Against my better judgement, I have started listening to Christmas music. As I have written before, saving the Christmas celebration for the actual season – beginning on December 25th and not after Thanksgiving – brings a profound meaning to those weeks following the birth of Our Lord (your kids also won’t wonder why the Christmas trees go up in the church right when it gets taken down at home). So why have I regressed into celebrating the Nativity prematurely?
In the last few days, I have discovered that, while Christmas is its own season and celebration, my observation of Advent is essentially, not-Christmas, which of course isn’t Advent. Granted, there’s so much going on in our family life right now that between work, family time, dirty diapers and not getting vomited on, it’s hard to focus on much of anything. Yet, in those few moments where I could be preparing myself for the coming of the Messiah, I’ve tended to just stick my nose in the air toward those who’ve chosen to hum Silent Night on Gaudete Sunday.
I’ve taken this unfortunate approach in other areas of my spiritual life; defining goodness by what I’m not doing. It lends to a very negative sense of morality and spiritual stagnation. After all, if my spiritual life is based in inactivity, I’m clearly not moving anywhere. At the final judgement, will a man be seen for the evil he avoided or the good that he did? I think it’s a “both/and” situation that can lead to a lot of issues when someone focuses too much on one or the other.
My recent inclination toward Christmas music is not an abandonment of observing the liturgical calendar, but a desire to celebrate… something. The season of Advent a time for preparing oneself not only for the nativity of Jesus, but His eventual return as well. If you find yourself skipping out on the true meaning of Advent, please join me in taking advantage of these last few days in readying myself to meet the Lord.