Advent in 2 Minutes!
In case you haven’t guessed yet, I love Advent and Christmas. This is, in fact, my favorite time of the year. The anticipation; the growing darkness and the warmth of our lights intended not only to hold the darkness at bay but to illumine its secrets; the planning and preparation; and all the rest. So over the next several weeks I’ll be posting a few of my favorite videos and resources that have helped me learn about and celebrate the season in fresh ways.
Today’s video comes from the creative folks at Busted Halo, a Roman Catholic (Paulist) group that seeks to Christians of all ages with the depth of faith. It explains Advent in 2 minutes, distinguishing Advent from the shopping frenzy all around us and the season of Lent with which it is often confused.
One small note: many Christian traditions changed the color of Advent some years ago from purple (as in the video) to blue to heighten the distinct anticipatory character of the season. Advent blue is the blue of the end of the night just before the sun rises and bathes the world in light and warmth. It is the color of waiting, longing, and anticipating with delight. Otherwise, pretty much all that we do in our congregations finds a quick and thorough explanation, so feel free to share this post will all those who may be interested in learning a little more about Advent…in just two minutes.
Notes: 1) If you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click here to watch the video.
2) If the web address for Busted Halo’s media-saturated and ridiculously fun online Advent Calendar passed you by too quickly, you can find it here.
Something struck me about this. First, I love the thoughts and the video. But the more I watched the portion around 1:40 about what Advent is and is not, it got me to thinking: do the cultural mentality and the church season speak in the same way? If Advent is a time not about that (cultural realities) but about this (Adventy-speak)… we’re not creating a bridging point where the Advent realities we speak of and lift up in the church can meet the realities we and everyone inevitably somehow experience in the store lines, decorating, etc.
So I was left with a yearning to take the next step in this conversation- If we know what Advent is and is not, now, by the course of the video, how do we walk with this anticipation and waiting into those realities we’ll encounter for the next 22 days? How does the Advent reality inform our daily lives? Telling me that this season isn’t about shopping and stressing can ADD to the stress that I shouldn’t feel this way. We have a deeper message than that- how can our anticipatory faith welcome Christ into the midst of a long line?
So thanks, for helping as you say, explore the ways to learn and celebrate the Advent season in fresh, new ways! This is a great appetizer.