In the close-knit rural church of my upbringing, we didn’t observe Advent. Not by that name, anyway. Our biggest holiday event was the annual Christmas play. Each year, right after Thanksgiving, we started setting the stage for the Christmas program. Tryouts were held for the annual play, the stage was set, and decorations, featuring a fresh cut cedar tree wrapped in strands of garland and big colored bulbs, were all put in place as our little sanctuary went through a bit of a seasonal transformation.
We installed two wire cables across the front and rear of the platform, hung huge purple velvet curtains on each, and gathered a variety of costumes, props, and furnishings appropriate for the theme of the play.
On most years, the Christmas play was a mini-drama based on the episodes in the biblical nativity narrative. Beginning with the appearance of a prophet foretelling the birth of the messiah or perhaps an angel visiting Mary, the play would progress scene by scene until finally, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men, and a menagerie of animals surrounded the manger. For a couple of years, the script involved a more contemporary setting with a plot built around a 20th century family’s saga in re-discovering the meaning of Christmas, but even then, the play always ended with a living nativity.
Gradually and methodically the stage was set, and finally, after weeks of planning, practice, and preparation, the play would be presented on a Sunday evening to a packed house.
Although, I didn’t know the meaning of Advent then, looking back, I think we were sort of observing Advent all along and just didn’t know it. Advent is really at time of setting the stage for Christmas, a season of preparation, culminating in that grand night when we celebrate the birth of Christ.
This year in our church, we will set the stage for Christmas by re-visiting the prophets, singing the carols, re-reading the gospels, and lighting the candles that call us to focus on peace, hope, love, and joy. Then we will be better equipped to empathize with the anxiety of Mary and Joseph, to feel the labor pains of God, to celebrate the birth of the world’s most pivotal newborn, and to hear both the singing of angels and the sobs of Rachel weeping.
If we take the time to set the stage, recounting the biblical stories from Advent to Christmas, we may find that we are more than ready to celebrate the birth of the messiah, and to follow Christ from the cradle to the cross and beyond.
