Adventus

Pastor’s Epistle—December, A.D. 2017 B

I have always been grateful for Advent. Growing up in a Lutheran home, we always had Advent wreaths and Advent calendars, counting down the days to Christmas, savoring the anticipation, bringing light and joy and sweetness increasing throughout the darkest days of the year. It was both a way to welcome Christmas and also to keep it at bay, to observe the holiday in its due time rather than rushing into it after Thanksgiving.

That we all need Christmas is abundantly clear. The hope, the joy, the promise of new life amidst the winter’s snows intoxicates us. Everyone loves Christmas, even the largely irreligious. We love the tree and the lights, the colors and the scents, the warmth of love and family, and the crackle of the fireside for those lucky enough to still have a hearth. We love the old, old story made new every December: the Mother and Child, the Guardian father, the angels and shepherds and Magi from the East, the ancient promises fulfilled and new dreams made manifest.

But those who lack a tradition of Advent observation miss out, I think. Christmas is thrust upon them, unmitigated and unfiltered, the moment the Macy’s Day Parade is done. So by the time we reach the Nativity of Our Lord—a fortnight’s celebration in the Church—they’ve already sung their carols and had their cocoa and been filled to bursting with yuletide cheer. We’re barely getting started while they’re throwing out the tree.

And so I encourage everyone to embrace the joys of Advent: the expectancy of waiting, the savoring of promise. Let the ring of lights slowly fill our houses with their soft and gentle glow. Let the waiting itself soothe us, calm us, preparing our hearts for the King. If we rush Christmas, we lose Christmas. And we have twelve wondrous days of celebration to attend, a Christmas that continues well into the New Year.

I confess that I’ve often been tempted to purchase one of the Whiskey Advent Calendars I see advertised every year. The notion of it appeals to me: a wee dram each night; a tiny, moderate indulgence to warm the heart and cheer the soul; a foretaste of the feast to come! I’ve not bought one yet, but this year I did find the next best thing: a Brewer’s Advent Calendar, with a different 16 oz can of imported German ale or lager for each day of December. This, combined with a book of liturgical poetry—Malcolm Guite’s Waiting on the Word—will serve as my Advent devotion this year. A simple swallow of sweetness to savor the long wait and keep the winter chill at bay! This, for me, is Advent.

Now to business, I suppose. This Advent is unusually short, three weeks instead of four, because Christmas Day falls on a Monday. This means that Sunday, 24 December, is both Advent 4 in the morning (@9:00) and Christmas Eve in the afternoon (@4:00). Coupled with Christmas morning (again @9:00), this makes for three completely different services in just over 24 hours. So please mark your calendars, and feel free to join us for all of them, if you wish. There will be different readings and homilies for each, and always the great Eucharist of our Lord’s Supper.

Advent also heralds the return of Advent Vespers, held Wednesday evenings (@6:30) throughout Advent and Christmas, starting with St Nicholas’ Day on 6 December. Please note that for Vespers on Wednesday, 27 December—the Third Day of Christmas—we have a Blessing of the Wine in honor of St John the Evangelist, so feel free to bring a bottle or three from home.

Our celebration culminates on Saturday, 6 January, with St Peter’s Twelfth Night, a catered celebration of medieval masquerade and entertainments! This is our first Twelfth Night festival since 2012, six years ago, if you can believe that. And every year people in town ask me about it—so this time around we can tell them that the party is on! Please contact the office for details and to RSVP. We’ll need a headcount for the food.

The King of Kings is on His way, and we must prepare ourselves to receive Him. May God bless you in all of your holiday preparations, and bring to one and all both the serenity of Advent and also a very merry Christmas.