Elevating expectations
In the work I’m doing with Forward Movement, we spend time reflecting on the marks of spiritual vital congregations. One of those characteristics: These churches elevate expectations for members of the congregation. That is to say, these churches challenge their parishioners to think about their own spiritual journeys. They invite these folks to think about how they might grow. They coach them to see how they can go deeper in life with God, how with time, talent and treasure they can take steps forward in the spiritual journey, in the spirit of Pope Francis who said that there is no such thing as a stationary Christian.
Last Sunday, we began the season of Advent, a beautiful brief season (four weeks), rich in meaning, with some of the most glorious hymns in our Anglican repertoire. One of the key themes of the season is that it is a time of expectation. I call it a bifocal season. We are expecting Christ to come into the world, anticipating the story of stable and shepherds and angels. At the same time, we are expecting Christ to come again into the world in our own future, expecting that we have not been left alone and that Jesus will show up again. It means we are a people of hope.
But with all this expectation of what God will do, there is also an expectation for how we will participate in the advent (the arrival) of Christ. For sure, it is a season marked by reflection and contemplation, in a world marked by increasing holiday activity. It can be a challenging, counter-cultural endeavor to try to enter into a spirit of quiet. But the waiting associated with Advent is neither passive, lethargic or indifferent. We are called to what Henri Nouwen called “active waiting”.
Who else models that for us better than John the Baptist, who has a starring role in this season? You’ll hear about him this coming Sunday, and the Sunday after that. (He gets a lot of airtime.) His whole life and ministry had to do with waiting for the arrival of Jesus, whose voice crying in the wilderness called listeners to prepare the way of the Lord. Advent challenges us to participate in those preparations. It elevates expectations for each one of us, even as we are expecting God to act in some new way.
So what would that work of preparation in this season look like for you? It might be that intention to take quiet time and remember the reason for the season. For many of us, that might be the most challenging thing of all. It might be preparing the way for Jesus to come into the world, doing the kinds of things he did, reaching out to those in need, sharing grace and love with those who are being deprived of those gifts. It may be a daily intention to be of service.
In this holy season, as we look forward to the arrival of the long-expected Jesus, may we wake up and embrace elevated expectations for our own active waiting, our own commitment to preparing the way of the Lord.
