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Advent in the Midst of a Pandemic


 

This quote was in a Christmas newsletter we received this past week and it echoes what many, if not most of us, are feeling.  “...it is a little like being handed a newborn baby for the first time wondering how to cope with all the differences this Christmas brings to us.” (Judy Imrie) 

A few days ago I watched a special on TV titled “The Twelve Days of Christmas” which focused on celebrations in England during Advent and Christmas in Tudor times (during the reign of King Henry VIII). Interestingly, their customs were more in line with this years’s reality than the producer had probably envisaged. Fasting was ordered for the whole of Advent, which then felt dreary and cold. Decorations were banned until Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was spent in church. Gifts, dancing and food wasn’t on the calendar until January 12. The time between Christmas Day and then was spent enjoying simple games and activities within the family. Sounds more like COVID times then it does like the Christmases we are all used to doesn’t it!

Advent, we were told by the church fathers and mothers, was supposed  to be a time of preparation. And so we prepared.:. sending cards, shopping till we dropped for the perfect gift, planning and attending parties. {I’m not sure that was the type of preparation we were being encouraged to do however!) This year we have an opportunity  to experience a different kind of preparation.  A preparation that is reflective, and thoughtful, a chance to celebrate this time of year in a new way.

And that is why the quote at the beginning of this blog struck me. Mary wasn’t rushing around trying to be all things to all people those 4 weeks before Jesus’ birth.She was focused on the most important thing, the baby that she was carrying. A birth that was to be celebrated by the family and a handful of strangers. There was no big meal. The magi and their gifts didn’t arrived until later. It was basically  just their household. The strangers that arrived, shepherds, according to Luke, were there to see and then went on their way back to their flocks. 

The pandemic is the ‘baby’ that has taken over our Christmas celebrations this year. As we prepare for the festivities will we take advantage of this quiet Advent time to consider what the pandemic has taught us and what difference it might make in our lives going forward?

Comments

  1. Judy ImrieDecember 8, 2020 at 10:52 PM

    This Advent does indeed remind me of the isolation I felt nearly 50 years ago during those first 2:00 a.m. feedings...alone in the universe, pulled from a warm bed to soothe a screaming infant. Would I ever get to sleep through the night again before this beautiful being entered my world? The answer is, of course, no...Now it is COVID that sometimes disturbs my sleep, bringing to mind the safety of my grown children and grandchildren. They enter my thoughts through the watches of the night (as soon as I am sure my husband is still breathing!) and I wish I could gather each one together and keep them all safe..babes in arms once again.. Perhaps I am becoming a less self-absorbed introvert, more aware of the needs of others, besides when to pick up the turkey and when to head to the malls one more time. 'The hopes and fears" of others beyond our family unit are touching me more deeply. as we all deal with this lurking, unseen enemy who could be anywhere ...feeling the need for contact and community one only notices when it is taken away or lessened. ...when'safety in numbers' is no longer possible and even gathering in 'our familiar family caves' may be the most dangerous move of all. Perhaps COVID is rubbing some of the callouses off my softening heart towards those who have no 'caves', no networks Little opportunities are opening up to actually do something about that in small ways. Will I remember the COVID lessons I am learning...I hope so...only time will tell. Perhaps this strange, dislocated Advent,,,this preparation time like no other, ..will make a lasting difference in all of us for the better...as we inch our way to Bethlehem...

    Judy Imrie

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