For many people this last week of Advent is fraught with frantic shopping, concern about who they’ve forgotten to get a gift for, cards that are not going to arrive before Christmas, children whose hopes are going to be dashed, worry about what food stamps will buy that will still look like a festive meal, the choice between food on the table or gifts under the tree, gas prices that prohibit travel to be with relatives, who’s going to watch the children while there’s no school, day care that’s not in the budget and parents who still have to go to work.
Our lifestyle should stand out in contrast to all the hustle and bustle, the preoccupations with secular concerns. We have the luxury and the burden of putting first things first. The sign Ahaz refuses to ask for in the first reading can be the one we project to the world. We can heed Isaiah’s alert and not weary people or our God. We can shorten real-life “posadas” by coming out of our shells when we’d like to hibernate in our self-made cocoons.
For the pregnant Mary these days just before giving birth to Jesus should have been “nesting days” but Mary was traveling. May we use this next week for “nesting” – readying our hearts and our living spaces for the Babe to take deeper residence in us and in our community.
These days are a time to listen like Jesus’ foster father Joseph to our dreams. Let us awake, arise and do what the Spirit commands. Sometimes it may be puzzling the connections we make. For instance, Joseph’s dilemma, and the angel’s intervention, had me humming two songs: “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” (from Cinderella) which continues: “…when you’re fast asleep; in dreams you will lose your heartaches, whatever you wish for, you keep. Have faith in your dreams and someday your rainbow will come smiling through.” The other dream song, “I Have A Dream” was written in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr: “I have a dream, a song to sing, to help me cope, with anything …I believe in angels, when I know the time is right for me …I have a dream, to help me through reality and my destiny.”
There is an air of festivity this time of year not solely in our faith tradition, but also, for instance, in the celebrations of Hanukkah and Kwanza as well. Christmas, sometimes referred to as Yuletide, is on a fixed date during the winter solstice. Kwanzaa was established in the 1960’s as a way to help African Americans connect with their African history and culture. It is a week-long spiritual festival celebrated December 26 to January 1. The seven-candle Kinara (candle holder) honors principles of Unity, Self-Determination, Responsibility, Cooperation, Purpose, Creativity and Faith.
Hanukkah is the eight-day Jewish festival that commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the oppressive power of the Syrian-Greeks and the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The eight-candle menorah with its day-by-day increase in light, symbolizes the days of creation and the dependable guidance of God. There is a long-held Hanukkah tradition that delights children as well as adults: the practice of “gelt-giving” – money or chocolate coins – which teaches lessons in charitable giving.
Comparing these festivals, it’s easy to see that despite representing a variety of cultural and faith traditions, there are commonalities: honoring our ancestry, candle lighting, charity, gift-giving, family spirit.
Our prayer intention for the next two weeks will express our gratitude for God’s boundless generosity in the persons of our relatives, friends, and benefactors. May they know our gratitude and be blessed by God for their graciousness to us.
~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
