Advent Matters

 Advent.

A time when we light candles,

Sing about Emmanuel.

Prepare our hearts and minds

For the coming of Christ.

 

What does it matter?

Is it only about candles, and song?

Only about preparing ourselves?

What does it matter?

 

It matters because

I make mistakes.

I sin.

Every. Single. Day.

Without fail,

my day is punctuated

with those things I do not plan to do

and yet do anyway.

Like Swiss cheese,

my day is full of the holes

where my good intentions have failed.

If it weren’t for advent,

if it weren’t for the coming of Christ,

I would live in the pain

of my faults, my mistakes, and my sin.

Without hope.

 

Advent matters.

 

It matters because

the world is divided.

We hurt each other

Every. Single. Day.

Without fail,

our days are riddled

with the hate we pour on each other.

With the blank stare of indifference

to the hunger and sickness of others.

Our world is filled with the noise

of arguments and judgment,

of the cries pain of the oppressed.

If it weren’t for Advent

if it weren’t for the coming of Christ,

we would live in the hatred

of our divided world.

Without love.

 

Advent matters

 

It matters because

death is inevitable.

People die

Every. Single. Day.

Without relief.

our lives are lived

with the knowledge that we are dust,

with the grief of loss,

with the aching heart

of missing those we love.

Our world is filled with mourning,

with the loss of family

and of ourselves.

If it weren’t for Advent

if it weren’t for the coming of Christ,

we would live in the darkness

of a casket in the cemetery.

Without life.

 

Advent matters.

 

Because Christ has come,

because Christ is coming,

we light candles of hope, love, and life.

We sing of Christ with us.

our hearts are filled.

our lives are changed.

our future is eternal.

 

Advent matters.