I wasn’t really ready for Advent this year. I prefer the years when the calendar gives us a weekend after Thanksgiving to finish off the leftover turkey and recover from the rival weekend in college football. But ready or not, yesterday was the 1st Sunday in Advent, the four weeks of spiritual preparation for the celebration of the coming of Christ.

Just in time, I received an unexpected gift that will be guiding me through these days. Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas collects the words and wisdom of an amazingly diverse company of writers.

The first reading is from J. B. Phillips, the vicar of the Church of the Good Shepherd in London during WWII. He began his translation of the New Testament in the bomb shelters during the Blitz because he was concerned that the young people in his congregaton didn’t understand the Shakespearean language of the King James Version. He completed The New Testament in Modern English in 1952, revised and republished in 1961 and again in 1972.  C.S. Lewis said, “It is like looking at a familiar picture after it has been cleaned.”

In 2002, Eugene Peterson did the same thing for his congregation in his paraphrase of scripture entitled, The Message. I encourage you to watch his conversation with Bono.

J.B. Phillips named the importance of Advent when he wrote:

“By far the most important and significant event in the whole course of human history will be celebrated, with or without understanding, at the end of this season.” He warned of “the particular danger which faces us as Christmas approaches. The towering miracle of God’s visit to this planet on which we live will be glossed over, brushed aside, or rendered impotent by over familiarity.

We assume we know what Christmas is about. How could we miss it? The sounds, sights, stories, smells, and tastes of tradition engulf us. I love it! But I also know the impotence of “over familiarity.” I acknowledged it in Surprised by Mary.

Because I can’t improve on Phillips, here are his words that are speaking to me as I play catch-up with the arrival of Advent.

“The wonder and mystery may leave us unmoved; familiarity may easily blind us to the shining fact that lies at the heart of Christmastide …No amount of familiarity with the trappings of Christmas should blind us to its quiet but explosive significance … God’s insertion of himself into human history was achieved with an almost frightening quietness and humility … The entry of God into his own world was almost heartbreakingly humble.”

There’s good news for any (or all!) of us who were not quite ready for Advent. We’re in good company! I can’t find a single person in the gospel stories who was ready for the coming Christ. It took them all by surprise. The traditional scripture readings for this Sunday remind us that the final coming of Christ will come by surprise as well. The best we can do is obey Jesus words to his first disciples, “Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24;42)

It’s not too late to find a fresh resource to keep you awake. A great option is Diana Butler Bass’s new book, A Beautiful Year. Another is Magrey DeVega’s The Christmas Letters: Celebrating Advent with Those Who Told the Story First. (There’s even a video to go with it.) My study, When God Comes Down is still available.

Ready or not, Advent is here! Jesus is coming again! In the apostle Paul’s words, “It is already the moment to wake from sleep … . the night is far gone; the day is near.” (Romans 13:11-12)

Grace and peace,

Jim