¹⁰“Be still, and know that I am God!^* (Psalm 46: 10a)

As we begin our second week of Advent, there are those of us who are already swept up in the flurry and, indeed, the fury of the season. Our in-boxes have been inundated with notices of the “last” (or the second-to-the-last or the third-to-the-last or the one-hundred and twenty-six-to-the-last!) cyber sale and we have begun to panic. What if we don’t get it all done? What if the tree doesn’t get decorated in time for the party? What if the gift that is somehow delayed by UPS for no apparent reason doesn’t come? What if we’re not ready? Really? Shhhh…..Be still and know that I am God.

We have somehow become convinced that we have to make Christmas happen, that the season somehow depends on us. But do you remember what happened that first Christmas? The world had waited for generations upon generations. The world had somehow convinced themselves that when the Messiah came, God would enter into their carefully-constructed plans and fit right in. But instead, God came when the world wasn’t quite ready and really had no room other than an animal shelter. And the world was so busy still making plans for God’s coming and preparing that God came without much fanfare. And the world sort of neglected to notice and kept running. Shhhh…Be still and know that I am God.

Maybe that’s what God intended. Maybe God intended to come into the stillness rather than the flurry. Maybe God intended to come into the darkness rather than the brashness of the artificial light. Maybe God intended to come into those places that were not cluttered with plans and decorum but rather had enough space for God to begin again. Maybe God comes into the space that is open and available. Shhhh…Be still and know that I am God.

You know, there’s nothing wrong with preparing for the day, nothing wrong with decorations and gifts and pretty wrappings, nothing wrong with celebrating. But THIS Advent, leave some room. Leave some time. Leave some space for God to come again. Prepare your heart by opening it to the possibility that God will come into a place that you did not know. Shhh…Be still and know that I am God.   

The reason why we don’t take time is a feeling that we have to keep moving. If we would only be still and look about, we’d realize that we already have what we seek. We don’t have to rush after it. It was there all the time, and if we give it time, it will make itself known to us. (Thomas Merton)

Grace and Peace,

Shelli