Word to the Wise
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - Wednesday in the Second Week of Advent
[Isaiah 40:25-31 and Matthew 11:28-30]They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagle wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. (Isaiah) Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest! (Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew)
I know of no other season in the year more frantic than the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Our culture has turned a period of celebration into a frenzied round of parties and shopping. The traffic can be horrendous and tempers can be short! In a time of economic crisis, those tempers can flare over in families because of the inability to have the kind of Christmas, materially, that might be otherwise. One hears the travails of the season over and over again. Yet, there is more than relief available, there is a whole different way of looking at the season - the way that Advent has presented for centuries! How many of us truly give our Advent/Christmas season a primarily religious meaning? Is Midnight Mass all there is? I'm not talking about adding on still another thing to an already crowded and exasperated human heart. I'm suggesting that the heart drop all the rest and concentrate on "the reason for the season!" The scriptures for today suggest to me that we can sit down and take a deep breath and put everything into perspective and ask the Lord for help to keep that perspective front and center! If lighting an Advent wreath helps this process, then by all means have one! If five minutes of just sitting without worrying about decorations or presents or expenses helps to bring the perspective into focus, then by all means do that. The birth of Jesus Christ is not meant to be a burden! AMEN
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