Waiting in Wonder

When I was a boy, my parents would get an Advent calendar for my brother and me each year. The calendar was special for us because it was filled with chocolates in the shapes of angels, stars and Christmas trees. Each day in December as we looked toward Christmas, we would open a window in the calendar and eat a piece of chocolate. The whole month of December is already filled with reminders to cause any child to burst with anticipation of the big day—the decorations, the ever-present music, the gifts beginning to appear under the Christmas tree. Yet somehow the daily chocolate from the Advent calendar had a way of capturing that expectation in a special way.

Advent is to Christmas what Lent is to Easter. As one carol says, it is a time to ‘let every heart prepare him room’. During Lent we look to take on a spirit of repentance. During Advent we wait for One who brings what we need, personally and globally—peace within and peace for the world. When we contemplate everything Jesus represents, a child’s sense of anticipation and wonder at Christmas is more than fitting.

Prayer: Help us, God, to be like a child in our anticipation of your renewed presence in our lives this Christmas. Amen