The Resounding Call to Advent Action

by Colleen McClain on Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent

Hark! how the bells / Sweet silver bells / All seem to say, / "Throw cares away…"

It was for a preschool art project that I made my first “Advent bell.”  Yellow, red, and green construction paper yielded a bell, a paper chain, and a child-friendly poem: “Every night when prayers are said / Snip a ring and jump in bed. / When only the bell is left to chime / You will know it’s Christmastime!” 

Advent’s meaning runs far deeper than any countdown captures.  But, the simplicity and delicate nature of that paper chain recall for me our journey this season.  Small steps—a prayer, an hour of service, a silent reflection—bring us closer to our Savior’s birth.  As a graduate student with a stack of conference abstracts and papers to write this Advent, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and retreat.  Faith is no less a challenge; even amidst turmoil, we must take steps to prepare our hearts for His coming—to make room for the most profound companion.  Our waiting is patient and active; restless and anticipatory.

It is in the chime of the bell calling our hearts forth from solitary journeys that I find deepest comfort.  The resounding peal in the distance (and at the end of my childhood Advent chain) does not ask us to “throw cares away” and simply escape into cheer, as the (beautiful!) carol above and our culture suggest.  Instead, it implores us to bring these cares, hopes, and dreams to the Lord and to each other as gifts; to reach out and walk the remainder of the Advent journey together, bringing the contents of our hearts and making way for change.

We sang this Gaudete Sunday the urgent, beautiful words of “O Come, Divine Messiah”: “Dear Savior, haste! Come, come to earth. Dispel the night and show your face, And bid us hail the dawn of grace!”  As we recognize these last weeks of Advent that the Lord is near, may each of us find anticipation deep in our hearts—and know that the rest of the world is waiting in earnest with us for the coming of Christ.

Questions for reflection:

Where do you find the call of Christ’s coming deep in your heart?

How does this call ask you to reach out this Advent season?  Where in your life can you take those remaining steps to prepare yourself for our Savior’s birth?

-Colleen McClain is a second-year graduate student in the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology at the Institute for Social Research. She is a member of the graduate s\Student/Young Professional and Small Church Community lead teams at St. Mary's Student Parish.