Preparing for the Season

By Rev. Raymond Coffey

November 2006

The days of Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas will soon be upon us. I can almost hear a collective groan in anticipation of the rush of activities that accompany this time of the year. We are aware that this should be a time of gratitude and joy as we celebrate with family and friends the blessings that we have experienced over the past year. We often approach this time with renewed hope that things will be different this season and we make preparations accordingly. But certain issues seem to make their way to the surface in our lives or in the lives of those around us and we may find ourselves dreading the coming days. And then we find ourselves feeling guilty because we are thinking of the problems that we may face rather than feeling happy about the coming season.

We have been programmed, by the culture or even the church, to think positively, rather that negatively, about our situations or circumstances at this time of the year. How should we handle the difficulties that face us at this time? One of the first things we must do is move beyond the idea that we are to be either positive or negative. We are required by our Christian perspective to think realistically about our situations, not just positively. And this means looking at things as they really are, not just as we hope them to be. For example, many of the problems that affect us, particularly at this time of the year, are due to unresolved family issues that once more come to the surface at holiday gatherings. We may have tarnished memories of past celebrations or wounds from previous hurts at this time of the year. And then we may have unrealistic expectations about how we are to experience this season. Thinking realistically means that we understand the way things are and that there are certain things we cannot change. When we stop and take inventory of where we are we find that we are at a crossroads in our lives. We however do not stop and remain stationary at this point in time. Instead we must learn the discipline of committing all of these matters to God in prayer.

To commit a matter to God in prayer is not just a cliché that we utter when we do not know what else to do. It is the starting point in addressing our lives realistically and it is vital to finding joy in the midst of all that surrounds us during this upcoming season. Yielding the issues of our lives to God means that we release control of that which we cannot change to him who will work his purposes out in ways we do not yet understand, in his time and according to his purpose. Only then can we begin to rejoice in the significance of the upcoming season. The Christian life is a hidden life, Colossians 3:2, and that means that we trust God to work in ways that are hidden, that are beyond our sight and cannot even be measured in a specific way. And it means that we are obedient to his commands to be what we are supposed to be, even in difficult situations, as we trust that he is working, behind the scenes, his purposes in our lives and in the lives of others.

This is the pattern of the Incarnation, the Cross and even the Resurrection, in short the pattern of the gospel. Each of these events were veiled, hidden from open sight, and yet were the means which God chose to reveal his purpose in redemptive history. As we move through this season let us remember God’s pattern of working out his will and rejoice as he does the same in our lives and families. In committing this time to God we indeed trust that he is working in hidden ways to accomplish his larger goal of forming Christ in us and revealing Christ through us to others. We can rejoice and do rejoice, even in the face of difficult tasks, as we give thanks, celebrate and remember all that God has done in our midst. And this gives us hope for the future, for he will continue his work until the coming of Christ Jesus. As we enter this season let us do so with all the joy that God intends for us to know as we trust his hidden work in our lives.