Advent 2021 Thank You
Tensions Continue
by Amy Bratton
Amy Bratton is the Director of Operations & Publishing for the New Leaf Network and the project manager for the Canadian Multivocational Ministry Project. She lives in Saskatoon, SK with her husband, Tim, and their two sons, Oswald and Ira. She is a lay leader at Riversdale Neighbours church and an Adjunct Professor with Rocky Mountain College in the area of Spiritual Formation. She writes and speaks about the history of Christian spirituality, with a focus on the early Methodist understanding of Christian maturity known as “perfect love.” Read more from her in her book Witnesses of Perfect Love: Narratives of Christian Perfection in Early Methodism.
Here we are, on Dec 26. Another Advent season comes to a close as we celebrate the coming of Jesus. Thank you for journeying with us this year. It has been a blessing to share these reflections with you, reflections of tension and joy, grief and celebration, waiting and arrival.
Even as the celebrations wind down in homes and wrapping paper moves from under the tree to the recycling bin, there is more of Christmas to come. In the Christmas story, the magi are yet to visit, and Mary, Joseph, and young Joseph have yet to flee to Egypt. And as we continue through the liturgical calendar, Epiphany will give way to Lent and more of the story unfolds. But right now we find ourselves in a space between the coming and the fulfillment.
My boys’ birthdays are in March so twice I found myself pregnant during the Christmas season. I appreciate the identification with pregnant Mary to some extent, but this year with my boys growing up, I found myself reflecting on what life might have been like to be raising a five-year-old Jesus or tween Jesus or the young adult Jesus. Parenting is not easy, and I really do wonder what it was like for Mary to watch Jesus grow up.
The lectionary reading for today draws out the brief story we have of Jesus’ younger years. In Luke 2:41-52, we read about the incident of Jesus going missing during the Passover. While we get glimmers of Jesus’ adult ministry with him about his Father’s business in the Temple. We are also told that Jesus returned to Nazareth and was obedient to his parents. What a strange in-between time for Jesus as he grew up. What patience he must have shown as he waited for his life to unfold.
Here we are, still waiting, even though Christmas has come. We wait for our hopes and dreams to materialize, we wait to see family members, we wait for this pandemic to wain. The waiting does not end with Advent. The tensions remain. Yet, we don’t wait alone.
As you read the Advent reflections this year, I hope you found some kindred spirits in the tensions of your own life. I have been blessed greatly by the New Leaf community that gathers through words on a page, Zoom calls and, in hope, in-person events again someday. If you found some connection here this Advent, we invite you to lean in and join us in the New Leaf community in the ways that you can.
In the New Year, New Leaf will continue to join together for our drop-in Zoom cafe times and the weekly Learning Centre, and we have several other exciting projects in the works. Visit newleafnetwork.ca for more information or sign up for our email newsletter to hear about all the upcoming chances to connect.
Thank you!
This is our fourth New Leaf Advent Reader. Our first year, I was figuring it out as I went along, but each year, we have expanded, tried new things and have added new people to the mailing list. I am so grateful that I have also had increasing help to make this collection happen.
Thank you to all the writers who contributed their reflections with thoughtfulness, vulnerability and artfulness. You have been a blessing to the readers and a joy to work with.
Thank you to Dawn Berkelaar and Dawn Chow for your editing. This collection is made better through our collaborative editing of the project this year. Thank you for working with the authors as we pulled this project together. Your skill with words has blessed me greatly.
Thank you to Alanna Johnson for making this project so beautiful. Alanna did the graphic design on the project, both the main image and the social media images. Thank you for your eye for beauty and details that help the reflections in this project shine.
Thank you to all the readers who have engaged with your hearts, shared the posts on social media, and sent us thank you notes. Even if we only had a handful of readers, I think we would have still done this project, but it is so encouraging that this collection of thoughts goes out and resonates in so many hearts across Canada.
Peace to you all during this season of Christmastide,
Amy Bratton
Lead editor, New Leaf Advent Reader
Thank you for reading the New Leaf Advent Reader, a collection of reflections from writers across Canada. If you are enjoying the reader, sign up to receive the readings in your inbox each day here: SIGN UP
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