My home is quieter than it’s ever been. I say that, not knowing whether it’s true, but because it seems so. Our children are grown and gone. Our dog’s deaf, blind and sleeps most of the time. Plus, my wife and I don’t make a lot of noise. We begin most days silently praying together. Then we exchange kisses before heading into a busy day in a noisy world. Most evenings we arrive home from our work feeling satisfied and weary.
Truthfully, I like this season of my life. And in a particular way, I’m especially looking forward to mulling over Christ’s birth again this Advent. Years past, the opportunity was oftentimes swept away in a flood of hustling and bustling activities. Familiar traditions and superficial diversions dulled my senses, rendering me incapable of listening for and hearing God’s voice speaking deep within. And even when I managed to avoid the holiday trappings I still missed the point.
But I’m more hopeful about the potential outcome of the kind of Advent that I’m feeling drawn into this year. That it’ll be a season of sincere and intentional interior preparation. That, in turn, it’ll open me more widely and connect me more deeply to the brilliant “Life-Light” that entered the world that first Christmas. That as I reflect on his first coming; how he lived, died and rose to live again, my slumbering spirit will be reawakened and my heart taken more fully captive by the astonishing reality that God loves me beyond my wildest dreams. And that being seized by the power of God’s unbridled affection I’ll also be compelled to wonder about the future, Second Advent—the coming of God’s kingdom on earth and to hear the calling voice of God for me to do my part in the building of that kingdom.
After all, the “Life-Light” that descended as an infant into our world of conflict and landed in the feeding trough of a barnyard animal is much more than first meets the eye. It’s not merely a soft, twinkling light, but a raging, consuming fire. This “Life-Light” is brighter, clearer, more penetrating and powerful than any light that has ever shown. This “Life-Light” shines with such intensity and force that wherever it appears it scatters the proud, humbles the mighty, feeds the hungry, and sends the rich away empty-handed (Luke 1:51-53).
Yes, it’s Advent again. It’s a season that’s full of expectancy as once again we await the arrival of God. And I’m beginning to feel like a child playing a game of “hide and seek” and I’m listening for God to begin counting down until finally again he announces, “Here I come, ready or not!”
The question is, “When God calls; will I be listening? And if I hear his call, will I be ready and willing to answer the call?”
Join the Conversation
Are you, like Fil, in a season of life that allows for the quiet contemplation of Advent? If so, how has that been for you?
If you’re not in that season, how do Fil’s words strike you? With longing? Despair?
 Fil Anderson is Executive Director of Journey Resources, based in Greensboro, North Carolina. He’s a frequent speaker at conferences, offers individual spiritual direction, and directs retreats and workshops around the country. He's the author of two books, Running on Empty: Contemplative Spirituality for Overachievers and Breaking the Rules: Trading Performance for Intimacy with God.
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Well spoken, Fil.
I think that what makes Advent more compelling to me this year is my own personal sense of need. It was an eye-opener for me to realize that, in order to fully appreciate the desperate hunger for a Messiah that was present at the time of Jesus’ birth, my own sense of desperation in places of my own life have made Advent expectancy much more personal and potent this year.
I’m also aware that, while we now know the precise time Christmas falls and can count it down by hours and minutes, those first century Jews did not. Their waiting had been measured in years, centuries, and even millenia…and the appearing of Christ came (with a few notable exceptions) as a true surprise. So we too wait with faith and hopeful expectation–not so much for the day of gift-giving but for the fresh appearing of Jesus in our hearts and lives where we need Him most.
Thanks for inspiring us to pay attention!