Every pastor knows that the Advent and Christmas season is an exceedingly stressful time. I once had an elder say to me, “Christmas is such a busy time, I just wish we wouldn’t plan so many things at the church.” I have shared that comment with other pastors and received the expected cynical laugh. We all recognize that the Christmas season has been so hijacked by society that people lose sight of the core focus on the birth of Christ. Yet, when we are honest, we also recognize that for the pastor it is such an exhausting time that it is hard to stay focused on the wonder of God’s gift in the birth of Christ.
I think it was John Wesley who said that the busier his life became the more time he had to take for prayer. At the time I first heard that I thought that the very problem with ministry is that the busier we became, the less time we had for prayer and other spiritual activities. Yet I discovered that what he said was true. The busier I became in ministry, the more important it became to take time for prayer. I think that lesson is very true as you prepare for Advent. You know it is going to be an exhausting time, so how can you find even more time for your own prayer time?
This is the time to take 15 extra minutes in the hospital chapel during visits to patients. It is a time to take a devotional into the bathroom and spend a few extra minutes in the stall by yourself. It is the time to get up 1/2 hour early to spend in prayer and reflection. It is a time to have a Bible in your car and take a few minutes when you have arrived at a destination to read a few verses and reflect on them.
It is Advent, a time of preparation for receiving the birth of Christ. As the early lectionary passages indicate, it is not just a fond memory of a past event but an expectation of what God is going to do in the future, both near and far. That might be an appropriate focus for your meditation. What are you praying for and preparing for that God might do in this season. In what way may Christ be born afresh in your own life, your church, and the world. Are you preparing to receive Christ or like so many in the world during the first birth, will it be missed altogether?
