04 December 2008
Alternate Routes | Advent
I first saw this on Barbara and Nathan's blog. If you haven't seen it already, you should take a look. Andrew and I have been thinking lately, how can we "do" Christmas differently? How do we best embrace Advent, I mean, really embrace it? Not just by singing some carols and lighting some candles, but rather, how should we change our practices to prepare ourselves for the coming Christ? I'm sure at first thought, we could all rattle off a few things: give more to charity, spend more time in prayer, savor those quiet nights of anticipation, read the Christmas story with more expectation. To be sure, those are all good things. But I think the story of Christmas, and indeed, the life of Christ, requires more. For me, this video excites the imagination and so I find it pretty apropos for Advent, but why stop there? The more I entrench myself in a different kind of Christmas, the more I find that the Christian life requires not just a change of shopping habits in December (although it does indeed require that), but a comprehensive change of lifestyle. Year round.
And so the question becomes, how do we "do" life differently?
This question in particular has been hounding me lately. A lifestyle change requires not just deeper pockets (that would be easy), but it requires broader perspectives, freer schedules, trusting hearts, a relentless commitment to each other and our neighbors, and hardest of all, resistance to the idols of prosperity, security, comfort and safety. I've given this much thought, but not too much action. And while at times I berate myself over this fact, I am also realizing that perhaps big change takes some big preparation. Of course, maybe that's just an excuse. But either way, Advent is the time of preparation and I will take advantage of it.
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2 comments:
Wow, what a cool video. Your thoughts are deep and get to the hard truth of it all.
This is a very cool video. It has really gotten me thinking.
I can't help thinking about what Christmas means. Giving of yourself. Not just giving to those less fortunate, but giving to those you love as well. I don't mean meaningless gifts, or over spending. I mean giving from the heart. I love seeing the look on a loved ones faces when they open a gift that either they have really wanted or would never have gotten for themselves. The smiles and laughter from my family and friends that goes along with Christmas mean so much to me.
I guess what I am trying to say is that doing Christmas or even life differently doesn't mean you have to give up simple joys of the season and life as well. Don't beat your self up trying to find a way to "do it differently". Find what is meaningful to you and put your whole heart and soul in that.
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