"Come to me all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest."
Gospel of Matthew
In 1994, when I first came to my new church in Dartmouth, the pastor asked several parishioners to give a short three minute presentation on our most memorial Advent and Christmas. The purpose was to make everyone aware, as far as possible, as to what this season was all about. He asked me to speak on Sunday evening. After some thought, I decided to speak on the Advent of 1988. Why then? In the advent of 1988, my mother was admitted to the Amherst hospital for a minor operation on her gull bladder. During the operation, it was discovered that she had advanced cancer, not only in her gall bladder, but also in her liver. She was give a maximum of six months to live.
I recall how much of a shock this was for the whole family. The rest of Advent with Christmas coming in a few weeks took on a much different flavor for all of us. All of the normal, and perhaps "busy" type of activities that would normally consume our time suddenly lost their significance. We all began to focus our attention on the care and concern for our mother, and how to celebrate this last Christmas with her.
For myself, this was an Advent and Christmas that I looked at more closely through a lense of faith. As a result, it became for me a most memorial Advents and Christmas. I never before felt as close to my family as we shared deeply our common concern.
The Gospel quote above from Matthew is very appropriate for Advent. "At that time, Jesus exclaimed: Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Advent, if it is experienced in the manner intended, must always be seen as an invitation to draw closer to Christ. So often, it reflects only the illusions of busyness as we attempt to make it fit in with our sometimes unreasonable expectations. Sometimes it takes a shock to bring us into the realization of what it is really all about.
When we are drawn to the realization that we really are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and through His Spirit He unites us as that family of faith, then we are moving towards the true meaning of Advent. We are moving towards a true celebration of the Christmas event.
The readings from Isaiah during this time attempt to bring that realization to a people who were separated by war. "Young men who hope in the Lord renew their strength. They put out wings like eagles. They run and do not grow weary, walk and never tire."
The Advent of 1988 brought us together as a family, gave us strength to deal with our sadness, to prepare for what was to come. It helped me personally to discover the birth of Christ and His message of consolation in a new way.
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