Advent upon us

Its hard to believe Advent is upon us! I put the idea out to the youth to have a small group get together to reflect on Advent which they seem keen. So now I have to plan and pull it altogether. 

Talking to sister, we concluded that we need a theme. I am uncertain what theme to go with, there are many possibilities… 

It got me thinking though, what does Advent mean to ME! 

The Church has the advent season to help us set aside our distractions and get profoundly in touch with the powerlessness of WAITING!! Yes, to those who know me, its sort of ironic that I would like advent as waiting is not a strong quality of mine! At times its a pure gift that needs prayer and work - patience could be used to replace the word waiting too!! 

I guess Advent is the time to dismantle our defenses for four weeks of the year, to face head on to our deepest yearnings, our unresolved longings and our rawest needs. After all Advent gives us this beautiful insight into gaining a confidence deeper than our needs.  Hope more far-reaching than desires, a future more comprehensive than our yearnings. It is when a seed is planted and roots form deep into our foundation, the beauty of new birth is present. A reminder of what a remarkable women Mary and her beloved husband Joseph were, showing us and teach us. Which all this can be translated into today context, today's Mary's and Joseph's, todays new births from creation to people to everything between and beyond. 

The other day I sitting in church before music rehearsal having a few moments to think in silence, about the many things that Im waiting to happen, to unfold, develop and then I realized that the answer to the agony of waiting is DEPTH! 

This advent season, I personally, am going to go on a journey for depth! 

To feel the depth of my life, to look into the deep heart of God. 

Look at my hands, think of the Father's hands that moulded the world, made me; think of His Sons hands and the nail-marks in the centre of them; think of the Spirit's hands, and realize they're the hands Im looking at right now. 

Then there are feet, the feet that walk with others on their journey; the feet that dance to the beat of Gods heart; feet that run with the wind of the Spirit. 

Oh and lets not forget the skin, the skin that Christ took on; skin that can touch the tender suffering of another; skin that can connects in a language only known by skin to skin touch; skin that's made to protect and stretch the boundary of my being. FEEL THE DEPTH!

Advent goes under and around our waiting. Gently, cherishingly and tenderly says NO, No this isn't the way the journey or story end. No, God isn't ignoring us, No this isn't Gods last word on the matter. No, God hasn't finished with me, this groaning, this aching this yearning won't be eternal condition. God came in Christ to be with us, to groan with our groaning, to ache with our aching, to yearn with our yearning. 

God in Christ suffered on the cross to show us, yearning that is greater even than our yearning, a grieving that is greater even than our grieving, a longing that is greater even than our longing. A yearning and longing for you!! Christ rose from the dead to show us how the story ends, that all our pain and agony and tears will be taken up into glory, that all sadness will be made beautiful and all waiting will be rewarded. Christ ascended into heaven to show us that we'll spend eternity with God, that hunger will be met in God's banquet, that everything we long for will be exceeded and overwhelmed in the glory of the presence of God and that when we see the marks in Christ hands and Fathers broken heart, we will finally realize how achingly, hungry God has always had for us. 

Just for once, this Advent I am dare to feel the depth. Never mind the width, or surface. Im tired of waiting… the answer is before me to go deeper. To feel the deep texture of life, feel the reality that eternal life isn't an extended version of what we have now, rather its deeper version of what we have - a glimpse of eternal life, even amid the sadness and the longing of waiting…. go deeper is the response to this. 

Nor is advent an escape, its an encounter with the time that's deeper than our time, a time we call eternal life. It's a discovery of a longing that's deeper than our longing, an experience deep down through to the bottom of our experience, where grief is no longer isolating but companionable, where hurt becomes tender wisdom, where unfulfilled longing becomes the sculpting of a greater hole for grace. 

This Advent, I take the risk  to feel the quality, feel the depth and go deeper, keep digging. Keep digging until I find I have dug deep into the heart of God.