Waiting on the World to change...

From Christine at Abbey of the Arts:

“This season beckons me to ask, what am I preparing for? What is the way that is being prepared within the wilderness of my life? What does it mean for my own life to become a path, a way of welcome for the Holy One? How do I give myself time to notice the ways that the path unfolds before me and within me? What are the acts of preparation that bring delight to my daily life? Whom do I ask or allow to help me prepare?”

-Jan Richardon, Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas

As most of you who read here regularly know, I love questions. They are so much more interesting to me than answers and more honest too. The poet Rilke invited us to “live the questions” which for me means living into a spirituality that respects and honors mystery.

Advent is my favorite liturgical season, in part because it parallels my favorite natural season of winter, especially this next month as we descend further and further into the darkness. Advent invites us deeper into womb-space, asks us to trust that the darkness holds wisdom and beauty we cannot yet understand, it demands that we become familiar with the landscape of waiting.

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Deb here:

Christine's thoughts (above) sparked a response in my heart. You see, I had kind of written off doing anything for "Advent" this year. It is such a church-y, natty little thing. I don't think God cares about the particulars, just that we notice and remember WHO this is all about. And it's not about liturgy. Or candles. Or "Adornaments" (gag-me-very-much). Or what a "proper" creche should look like, when it should be set up, etc etc etc.

You think I am kidding, but people take this human-side of the equation uber-seriously. Are the colors of the candles all blue, purple and pink or white? (There are people who care very deeply about this and it gets me crazed.)

So, I am totally intrigued with this idea, and as I am ALMOST done with the semester, I think I will actively pursue thinking and blogging on this idea of the "waiting" in Advent.

I think that the song that comes to mind for me, one that is most "Advent-tacious" (no it is not a word, I made it up) is the song by John Mayer: "Waitin' on the World to Change." Because the answer is not in the world changing, it's in the World Changer. And here's the song for your listening pleasure as I cogitate how I am going to pursue this challenge... camera in hand...




Keep on waitin'...
Deb