Remember that phrase...."Tis the season to be jolly?" You know, in the "fa-la-la-la-la" Christmas song? I was thinking today that, while many people enjoy this time of year, there are many, many others who find that this time of year is not so, well, "jolly." As everything around us is screaming for us to be happy (the decorations, the music, the craziness of it all), many people start feeling isolated and alone in their pain (after all, it's bad enough to feel sad or down about something....it is even worse when everyone is all jolly around you). Sadly, Christmas can rub salt in the wounds of grief, stress, financial strain, relational issues, etc etc.... For many, Christmas can be a marker of yet another year of pain.....
But I don't think this whole season is necessarily supposed to be about happiness and being "jolly." I think there is a side of Christmas that is a bit more "un-jolly?"--a side of the holiday that connects deeply with our suffering....and that is the season of Advent. We talk about Christmas as though it is this entire season--but really, in it's purest definition, Christmas is December 25th. Everything else leading up to the 25th is actually the Season of Advent.
And Advent is about waiting....but not waiting, like, for a bus...but the kind of waiting that is consumed with intense longing......
Advent is about the longing for Christ, the Messiah. Longing for the one thing that will triumph over pain and suffering. Longing for the hope that has been promised. Many people might say, "well, hey, Jesus was born...so the wait is over and we should all be happy!"
Yes...and No. Advent recalls a time before Christ was born - we remember how Christ's birth was anticipated.... and we can be filled with joy and hope that Christ was born! but Advent is also a time for us to remember that we are, now, waiting for Christ's return - we are waiting, with longing, for sin and suffering to be completely removed from our vocabulary.
So, to all those who feel some (or a lot) of pain this season - I want to encourage you that this is YOUR season! This season isn't meant for the blissfully happy, "I-have-got-it-all-together" kind of people...this season is for the sick, the broken hearted, the weary.... This season recognizes the hurt and pain and loneliness and longing that you feel. This season of Advent recognizes that we are still, in some ways, waiting....
But the beauty of Advent is that it finds its resolution in Christmas. Christ has come and Christ will come again. Christ has the final word in our suffering. Christmas reminds us to, even in our pain, wait with expectant hope because Christ IS coming.
If you are feeling sad or lonely or lost this Advent/Christmas season - remember that Christ has come that you might have life...and have it to the full..Christmas celebrates this fact. And take joy and comfort in that. But remember that His work is on-going and, at this time, there is still suffering in this world because there is still sin in this world. But just as God was in complete control of the timing of Christ's birth - He is in complete control of the timing of His return and the final end to sin's presence in our lives. God has this crazy world fully in his control. So even in your pain and sadness, know that it all fits within an eternal framework of hope and peace....and we may have to wait now for complete relief....but the end of the story has already been written. Christ was born and He is coming again.... "Come thou long expected Jesus....."
