The other day, a friend was telling me about an American virtuoso cornet player called Herbert Clarke (1867–1945), considered to be the greatest cornet player of all time. It is said that to prepare a new piece he would practice it a thousand times. That really is preparation taken to the extreme, but of course he did end up with something near perfect. How often have we thought, after some particular event, ‘If only I had been better prepared?’
We are now in the season of Advent, which as we know, is a time of preparation. I confess that, in terms of preaching, I never found Advent easy. It is not that the notion itself is difficult, but there is so much ‘going on’ in that four-week liturgical bonanza.
The word Advent derives from a Latin word adventus meaning ‘coming’. But the complication is that, as Christians, we are challenged to prepare for the coming of Christ in three different ways:
First, we prepare to recall the coming of Christ in the flesh and our celebration of that on Christmas Day. Second, there is preparing for the Risen Christ to enter into our lives and hearts day by day. Third, there is the promise that Christ will come again at the end of time and so we need to prepare for that. However, this third aspect requires us to confront the notion of penitence and divine judgement; sheep and goats! That seems rather ‘heavy duty’ in the few weeks before the fun of Christmas!
And that leads to a further complication; Advent coincides with all the razzamatazz of the secular preparations for Christmas. By Advent Sunday it is all in full swing: city centre streets full of lights, shoppers laden with gifts, Santa Claus miraculously around every corner. Because of all this, the Church finds itself in a situation where it has to celebrate Christmas whilst preparing for it! School Carol services, Christmas Fayres, carols around the village Christmas Tree; the list goes on. I am beginning to sound rather despairing and cynical, but in fact the truth is, far from it.
A friend of mine used to say that the incarnation was about Jesus coming into the world ‘amidst all the muck and bullets’. In some parts of the world that is very sadly literally true, but in our context, it is a metaphor.
I have never felt too comfortable when people (rather piously) talk about the real meaning of Christmas, because there is a sense in which Jesus coming into the world as it really is – shopping, lights, presents, parties – is the meaning of Christmas. The incarnation is about Christ being with us as it is. Excess and blatant consumerism is of course unattractive, but if we take the message of Christ into our hearts, we can help to counter all that.
So, enjoy your preparations over the next few weeks – preparations both spiritual and practical.
Geoffrey Lowson, TS, December 2017