Mtr. Emily’s November Note to the Parish
Advent is coming! Don’t believe all the corporate emails you’ve gotten–you don’t need to buy anything new or rethink your traditions in order for it to be meaningful. Here are three things that young children know that are better than any new decoration or activity.
1. The real fun of giving or receiving a gift is the act of giving and receiving (and sometimes unwrapping). The gift itself is exciting too, but the appeal doesn’t need to last long for it to be a meaningful moment. Have you been solemnly handed a broken crayon by a 2-year-old? Or given a pair of new tube socks by an 80-year-old? The delight in both of them is the moment of connection and surprise. The only perfect gift is Jesus! So you can ignore all the ads that shrilly exhort you to make sure you’ve given the right thing.
2. The Church uses many images to help us enter Advent and prepare for Christmas—be literal and concrete about them. In Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, in Level 1 we introduce 3-year-olds to one of the prophecies about Jesus: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2). Many adults head straight into abstraction (“moral darkness!” etc) which also leads naturally into adult white supremacy and other prejudices (“light things are better than dark things” etc). But a 3-year-old grasps the real power of this verse–it can be frightening to be alone in the dark without light. It can be troubling and stressful to move about a dark room where you might fall or bump into something. The moon, the stars, the sun, a candle, a little lamp—all of these are beautiful and comforting, but most importantly they let us see what’s around us! And then we, walking in darkness, are less afraid or confused. In our liturgies, prayers, and hymns this Advent, I encourage you to be as concrete as possible. Think about a real pregnant woman you have known (or been!). Think about an actual time you have had to wait. Think about an actual rose, an actual root, an actual key–and see what else that brings up in your prayer!
3. Repetition with a little variation is really nice. Perpetual variety and surprise are over-rated. The joy a young child has in re-reading or re-telling a story is real; they are finding something new each time. Many of us adults know this too—we are the people who reread mystery novels and rewatch favorite tv shows, who keep picture books on our shelves and give a friend the same kind of gift each year. We are also the people who have prayers memorized because we just like saying the same ones over and over again! As you look into Advent and Christmas, in your family life and prayer life and social life, how about you only do things that you have already done before? What if this year’s motto is “nothing new”? Or “same thing every week”? Church-wise, as you consider how to mark Advent, I encourage you to pick one super-short prayer and just pray the heck out of it. (I will have some prayers for you when we make wreaths, November 30th after church!) Or decide that you’re going to light a candle and look at it for 30 seconds once a week. Or that you’re going to pray before or after you eat. Young children know—one little thing done over and over can be the most fun (and meaningful.