Advent...think about it. Two words: "ad" and "vent". The days leading up to the coming of Christ at Christmas are inundated with ad after ad after ad telling us which thing to buy, put on lay-away (yes, lay-away has returned), and anticipate. Our days are dictated by Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and now Cyber Week. This year the stores opened up on the day of Thanksgiving. People lined up outside hours before the doors opened foregoing time with family and the general spirit of gratefulness. Why? Well, the "ads" were telling us to be there! Don't wait! Hurry! Make haste! Be the first in line. So, Advent has the word "ad" in it...intriguing. Consider the other word, "vent." News story after news story told of people getting angry and "venting" that anger on other shoppers. Arrests were made; people were pepper-sprayed. Why? Because the "ad" told us that we had better be quick about finding the best deal, the lowest price, the perfect gift.
Stop now. Consider something else. Advent also has the beginning of the word ADVENTure in it. Adventure implies a journey. Adventure implies that something is happening or about to happen. We anticipate adventure. We want adventure. Why, we want to be like Indiana Jones and go on the adventure of our life! I read one definition for the word, "adventure" as a "bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome." Both the word "advent" and "adventure" are very similar in their etymology.
Maybe the season of Advent is really about a bold risky undertaking. Maybe it is implicit of a "hazardous action of uncertain outcome." Some definitely experienced a hazardous outcome shopping on Black Friday. What if, however, the bold undertaking is accepting the advent or arrival of Christ the King into our lives. If the word "advent" means arrival then we might ask ourselves if our hearts are open for the arrival of Christ. It seems that some shoppers took their lives into their own hands as they pushed and shoved with other shoppers to find the next great gift.
What if this Advent we simply put our lives into the hands of the One who came to bring peace in the midst of chaos, hope in the midst of despair, and life in the midst of death? What an ADVENTure that would be.
