The Irrational Season

We are now fully immersed in that season of overflowing calendars, increasing stress levels, and growing to-do lists. Predictably, and far too often, this Advent time of waiting becomes a season of frenzy. As I observe that perennial tendency arising within my own being, I am reminded of these wise words of Madeleine L'Engle's poem, “After Annunciation”:

This is the irrational season when love blooms bright and wild. Had Mary been filled with reason there'd have been no room for the child.

Perhaps the poet's brevity here is intentional - a respite from the clamor of the season, an invitation into reflection. What of our lives keeps us from making room for the pure wonder of this season? What blocks us from experiencing the sheer extravagance and awesome absurdity of Jesus - God's Son, God's Self - taking residence among us, within us? What is it about the status quo of this time of year that simply causes us to miss the point? What is it that prohibits us from expecting the unexpected, from setting our sights on that distant star?

As you peruse these pages and take note of all that lies before us this season and in the new year, recall that we are in the business not of filling calendars, but of making room; not of accomplishing all that the world expects of us, but of being present, open, ready. Ground yourself in the promise penned by Phillips Brooks and set to music in “O Little Town of Bethlehem”:

Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.

May you receive the gift of Christ in this blessed season.

Jonathan Emmons Director of Music Ministries