by Christine Jones
The Advent season is the most celebrated Christian season - by Christians and non-Christian alike. However, for all of the pervasiveness of Christmas-ness around the world, it is pretty easy to be un-Christian this time of year. All of the things we “do” to anticipate Christmas are stressful. Add all of the “end of year” job and family duties and it can be downright hard to be charitable to others. Meanwhile, the secular culture of Christmas does not help. A stroll down Newbury Street (where I live) is a journey into self-expression with tourists and residents alike jostling for favor.
Watching the street from my window, I am tempted to focus inward, to join the crowds in search of the one gift that will be the best, the one meal I need to “celebrate” all my hard work. Fortunately, our readings today confront this reality of the human experience and offer wisdom.
Isaiah 58 famously calls out those who eagerly draw attention to themselves through their pious activities. Isaiah 58:3 ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’
But the Lord responds with the fast he really wants. And it is a long list of actions that are other-focused, not self-improvement activities. A great antidote, but frankly, it can seem overwhelming when I am just trying to finish the end of the year well.
However, I am fortunate enough to work for the Anglican Relief and Development Fund. Our mission is to resource the local church. We don’t do the relief and development work; the local church does. In staff conversations, we continually remind ourselves that the work we support is not about us!
And I am not unique. Members of Church of the Cross are housing refugees, caring for foster children, visiting the incarcerated, and providing medical care to the less than privileged! All without drawing notice to themselves. Others are supporting these “fasts” with prayer and financial support. So whether you know it or not, you are already offering this fast to God.
Meanwhile, in Psalm 77, the Psalmist laments, “I think of the good old days, long since ended, when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now. Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me?”
Fortunately, the Psalmist goes on to say, “But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.”
Remembering how the Lord has been faithful in the past is the Psalmist’s response. Recalling how God has delivered us in the past is a sure-fire way of clearly seeing how deeply God knows (recognizes) us! Collectively we do this each Sunday, as we walk through Advent together and retell the stories of Jesus and God’s faithfulness across the millennia.
I find it interesting that both of these “remedies” exist in our secular world. Listing out gratitudes is something non-Christians are trumpeting, with “Gratitude Journals” and podcasts calling us to remember what we are thankful for. Service opportunities are everywhere, even offered by (secular) companies for employees.
But as followers of Jesus, we know the source of this wisdom and can claim it as such. So in this season when the shop windows tell me what I deserve and what will get me noticed and I covet the things in the next shopper’s cart (or diner’s plate), I remember Isaiah’s promised blessings for those who fast for God.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
The Lord will guide you continually,
giving you water when you are dry
and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like an ever-flowing spring.
Christine Jones lives in Back Bay and is the Deputy Director of The Anglican Relief and Development Fund. Christine and her husband, Andrew, host the Back Bay neighborhood group and enjoy sharing their home on Newbury Street with others.