What is Advent?
In our evermore secular age, such a question is a non-sequitur, an archaic and awkward turn of phrase that brings puzzlement to the face of the hearers. Of course, the irony is that anyone who is currently looking forward to these holy days with excitement or trepidation is living out the season de facto. We anxiously await the parcels and winter break from work or school, but these only exist because of that fateful day we refer to as “Christmas.”
The first Noel, the scriptures did say, took place in Bethlehem due to the government of that day. All were to be numbered for the census so they might better “render unto Caesar;” thus, all had to return to their patrilineal ancestral home. Jesus in utero, Mary, and Joseph would have been on the road from Nazareth with a convoy of families making their way by foot or hoof to King David’s birthplace. The dust, noise, and smell were a constant reality on such a journey.
The law of unintended consequences, like gravity, predates all civic existence: requiring that every possible heir of a given bloodline must return to the fatherland is a recipe for logistical disaster. We read from the Gospel that there was no room at the inn, but often do not grasp that while this resulted in dramatic effect, its origins are the fault of too many people stuffed into far too small a space. The Holy Family took refuge in a stable, surrounded by the friendly beasts.
Throughout the history of Christianity, the Virgin has been elevated in stature, via both art and theology. But on that dark night, the Mother of God gave birth in the most humblest of circumstances, aided only, as far as we know, by the silent Joseph and none of her own sex. It was the most blessed event in history, taking place in the rudest of settings. But after all of the struggle, the Christ child was born, healthy and ready to nurse. The exhausted family rested.
Different versions of the events have been posited over the years, as scholars, believers and non, debate the timings of who, what, and where. I will leave the definitive answer to Mother Church, and simply state the obvious - “here comes everybody:” the three wise men from afar via the star; dozens of the lowest caste from the fields by an angelic message; and with all that commotion, surely a few visiting or residing in that town also peered into the stable with wonder.
We peer in with them, catching a glimpse of what is still the most popular image in all of Western history: a father, silent and strong, with arms girding his beloved who holds an infant; the Mother, gazing down with complete benevolence at the babe in her arms; and the Christ Child, the incarnation of peace and vulnerability, a divine contrast to His ultimate mission at Eastertide as well as His Second Coming. The tableau is as profound as it is simple, familiar.
That serenity was not long lived, as the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt and King Herod’s infanticidal mania attest. Much of the rest of Christ’s early life is shrouded in mystery. We know he was dedicated at the Temple, where Simeon and Anna prophesied over Him, at age 12, He was found in the Temple by Mary and Joseph instructing the teachers and clerics; and, Joseph must have died sometime before Jesus’ three years of ministry as he is not mentioned again.
In our present era, the serenity and fellowship we hope for at Christmas is also not long lived. Our gloomy reality breaks upon us rather rudely a day or two after the first of January, as our busy world increases the cadence, trying to make up for “lost time” over the holidays. Soon, the bills from our extravagance arrive and our thoughts turn to spring and summer. The coldest and darkest season recedes into our memories, with only the pictures or presents to remind us.
There is no stopping this cycle from repeating - indeed, even the Holy Family could not stop the world. But it is my sincere hope that during this Advent and, finally, Christmas season, that you will hear an echo of that angelic chorus: “peace on earth and goodwill towards men.”
Nathan Giede is a Prince George writer.
