First Sunday of Advent
Scripture Reading for Today:
Starful Surprises
by Amy Bratton
Welcome to the sixth annual New Leaf Advent Reader. I am so excited to share this collection of reflections with you! In 2018, when we put out our first set of daily reflections, I felt like I was leveraging the whole network to find people willing to write a reflection for this unknown project. This year, there is no way that 23 reflections from now until Christmas could do justice to the richness of the network that has emerged over the last several years. I am so grateful for all the gentle souls I have had the privilege to meet through New Leaf.
Earlier this fall, I shared the theme of Surprising Beauty with the contributors. Their reflections on that theme did not disappoint. At our national conference, The Table, in October, we focused on the future of the church; I wanted to continue that hopeful tone during Advent by looking for beauty, even in the darkest days of the year. If you have spent any time around New Leaf, you probably already know that we don’t shy away from struggles, failure or questions. Instead, we pause and reflect on how Jesus walks with us even in darkness that can feel dangerous.
Recently, I’ve been reflecting on how darkness need not hide danger, but instead inspire awe and beauty. As the end of the year approaches in our Northern country, the shortening days and growing darkness can feel routine and even mundane as it comes each year. As I read the lectionary text for today, the first Sunday of Advent, it struck me that, here, the mundane is highlighted and even celebrated.
Isaiah cast a vision of the future in which the crisis of war gives way to the daily necessity of food production, as swords and spears are transformed into plows and pruning shears.
“He will judge between the nation
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Isaiah 2:4-5
Likewise, in the Matthew passage, although apocalyptic in nature, Jesus leverages the mundane tasks of life to cast a vision of the time when the Son of Man will return at an unknown hour.
This Advent, can we let the beauty of the mundane sneak up and surprise us?
As the dark of winter builds, I am reminded of a dark summer night several months ago. During a camping trip, my 5-year-old woke up one night needing the bathroom. As we grabbed the lantern and headed to the campsite washrooms, I was aware that he might be cautious of the dark. In recent weeks, he had expressed concern about the dark at home. However, he surprised me and didn’t seem bothered as we trekked together across the field, did our business in the fully lit building, and headed back toward our tent. In the darkness, I intentionally paused with him for a moment, to look up into the darkness at the stars.
The joy on his face was fun to see. As a kid who goes to bed before the sun in the summer, and who wouldn’t see many stars from our house in the city even if he were awake in the dark, he hadn’t seen this kind of display before. We headed back to the tent and he settled into sleep. I’m glad for the moment in the darkness with him. The path to our destination was obscured. Yet, when we looked up, we were surprised by the quiet beauty of the stars.
In December, the church calendar begins the cycle again with Advent and the birth of Jesus. Can we receive a sense of anticipation for the story to unfold? Can we look for beauty as the story of Christmas reveals new discoveries each year? I’m learning that discoveries are more possible when we know the general storyline that is unfolding. Even more, there is beauty in the growing winter darkness because we know how the story of Advent unfolds. We can suspend our fear of the dark and allow God to surprise us with new beauty each year during Advent.
I invite you to join this year’s journey into the surprising beauty of Advent.
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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