Why is it hard to buy an Advent Calendar?
Because their days are numbered.
God gave us Advent in our lives because we need time to get it right – time to prepare for that meeting with our Lord and Savior. As children we strove to be good so that we would be ready for Jesus’ coming. As adults we prepare for another coming.
Most days we have to admit we still struggle for perfection. We imagine God is watching and keeping track. Actually God has other plans. He sent Jesus to explain, but we just don’t seem to get the message.
I am reminded of the words of a mother shared on internet:
My proudest moment came during the children’s Christmas pageant. My daughter was playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man.
A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing.
I slouched a little lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, “Mama-mama.”
My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, “We are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts of gold, common sense and fur.”
The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation… “My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest blessing,” I said as I dug through my purse for an aspirin.
I imagine God has a sense of humor. He likely doesn’t have to reach for an aspirin, but God is proud of our least efforts in bringing about the Kingdom. God does not reward success, but he does reward effort.
This Christmas, let us have a deeper understanding of how the incarnation changes us. When the Word became flesh, a human Mary gave great dignity to the human race by becoming the Mother of God, by housing the eternal power within a human body.
You and I have a great dignity by being the temples of the Holy Spirit through Baptism and by receiving Christ within us. Be it in the Word or the Eucharist, Jesus wants to enter our hearts and make our living bodies the place where God can dwell.
This Christmas, let’s pray for peace on earth and blessings on those we love. I have learned never to ask God for anything unless I mean it. As a minister said, “If you pray for rain, make sure you carry an umbrella.”
To share just one example: several years back when my oldest son was still single I started a Christmas wish by praying for God to bless him. It took God a couple of years to answer my prayer, but my son was blessed with a wife who is an answer to prayer in so many ways, as are our two grandchildren.
God’s blessings on our children and families is only one area to be thankful for. This Christmas may we be aware of our prayerful needs and the abundant blessings we enjoy in time and in God’s plan.
