O Come, O Come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
I have noticed in recent years that people are putting up their Christmas decorations earlier and earlier. It used to be that people put up their lights and trees a week or two before Christmas or even traditionally on Christmas Eve. And then it moved to the weekend after Thanksgiving. And now I notice that many people are putting up their lights and trees the day after Halloween! What is going on here?
I wonder if this amplification of the excitement of Christmas has something to do with longing - our longing for light, love, hope and joy. We live in a troubling, threatening world with much darkness, violence and turmoil. It is no wonder that we long for something brighter beyond ourselves. We long for a heartfelt experience of light, love and joy.
As the ancient hymn above communicates so powerfully, Advent is a season of longing. It is a season when we are invited to get in touch with our longings. I encourage you to ponder what you yearn for this Advent season. What are you longing for? What are the desires of your heart? How might your longing bring you to deeper belonging in Christ?
May your longing guide your path and enliven your contemplative practice this Advent.
Paul