Have
A Blessed Advent Season
In
addition to the unfortunate reality of the war in Iraq and its consequences,
there is another war that is being fought locally. On Thursday, December 8, 2005
the city of Boston finally lit its “Christmas tree,” after an uproar over an
attempt to rename it the “holiday tree.” This is one of many battles across
the country over what seems to be attempts to empty Christmas of its religious
meaning. ABC News announced that some stores have banned the Salvation Army
kettles, others have instructed their store managers and customer servers to
greet clients with “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas,” …
and the battles continue.
The argument itself is disheartening. On the one hand why would anybody
think of changing the name of such a beautiful tradition and replace it with a
generic term? In a country where the majority still profess to be Christian, why
should the title “Christmas” be an issue? Has Boston resolved all its social
and economic local issues that it has the time and energy to focus on the title
of a feast? On the other hand, is Christmas simply a title? Does its meaning
change when certain people stop using that title? Why are some people concerned
about the renaming of a tree when Christmas is much more than a title? We,
Christians, know that Christmas is the divine miracle that reveals God’s love
for us and invites us to respond to Him through our life journey.
The forerfathers of the Church, cognizant of the damage that the
reduction of the anniversary of the greatest miracle can do to its meaning,
prescribed Advent: a period of reflection and meditation prior to Christmas.
Advent, or the Armenian Hisnag, is a time of preparation for the mystery
of Christmas. It’s a journey, similar to Lent, that takes us through several
weeks of contemplating God’s love for us that led Him to limit Himself into a
mortal body being born a man, and to suffer its consequences, being rejected by
His own people and crucified. Advent is also a time to reflect upon the message
of Christmas “peace on earth and goodwill among men.” It is time to focus on
our role in achieving peace on earth. One effective way we can do that is to
intensify our prayers for peace on earth. Another way is to increase our efforts
in bringing peace to our relationships with our friends, acquaintances and
family members.
As I spend the coming days of Advent focusing on the various blessings
that God has endowed me with, I am thankful to the community of Holy Martyrs and
the various opportunities given to me through the Church to respond to God’s
love and be an instrument of His gospel, love and peace.
So, I would like to propose to all those fighting for “Happy
Holidays” or “Merry Christmas,” to switch to “Happy Advent” for the
time being, in order to help us focus on the meaning of the season. Why not
focus on what Christmas means to us and how I can be part of the miracle story,
as opposed to what to call it? Let’s concentrate on the many blessings that we
enjoy as consequences of the first Christmas and build on that every year as
opposed to fighting with each other on what to call it.
HAVE A BLESSED ADVENT.
In Christ’s Service
Advent, 2005