Advent With the Copelands
The beautiful phrase “But when the fullness of time had come..” which Paul uses in his letter to the Galatians to describe the moment when God sent his son into the world is one of my favorite expressions in all of Scripture. There, sitting discreetly in the midst of Paul’s heady theological explanations, could be the opening to a great classic fairy tale. And I think the connection makes sense considering the elements of the moment that Paul is talking about: ancient prophecies fulfilled, messages delivered by angels, and a usurping child king conceived by the breath of God. That story, the one we remember at Advent, when God became incarnate in the body of a virgin, is just pure magic. Except that this story doesn’t leave us pining for a magical fairy tale world that doesn’t exist, rather, it realizes our most basic and childlike longings by telling us that the magic is amazingly, unbelievably true. As we are approaching Advent, this is the way I want my family to experience the season—not just as a theological exercise but as the most enchanting story ever told.
The beauty of this purpose is that it doesn’t require anything novel. Our celebration embraces many of the most quintessential and enduring traditions because they are filled with meaning in the light of his presence. As Christ’s coming was an exaltation of the humble so we can use humble means to celebrate Advent. We give ourselves over to the joy of Christmas trees, wreaths, lights, candles, music, cookies, and gingerbread houses and wonder at the way these ordinary things are transfigured into something magical. There’s something in the way a tree simply brought indoors and covered with lights becomes something wonderful that reflects our own transformation from ordinary people into new creations in Christ. Advent can be a time when we remember how the physical and the spiritual, the sacred and the ordinary were united and we as Christians have been given new eyes to see that reality. We want our celebration to be embodied as Christ took on a body, because that’s the story we are telling.
Our kids have become our greatest asset when it comes to celebrating Advent. They are inherently better at recognizing and delighting in the wonder of simple things. Over the years they have been the ones that ask for the repetition of certain activities and help us to see what traditions are worth hanging on to. My daughter planned the Advent calendar this year and filled it with activities for each day. It includes things like decorating sugar cookies and making wreaths, watching favorite Christmas movies and sleeping beneath the light of the tree. One particular favorite is to read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol over the five nights leading up to Christmas day. This isn’t a long book (only five chapters) and witnessing the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge never gets stale. The sights, smells, tastes and sounds of Advent require all of our senses to enjoy and remind us that Christ’s redemption is one of both body and soul.
Our celebration of Advent certainly wouldn’t inspire anyone for its novelty and any of our traditions could be found on an internet list but that’s not what gives them meaning. Only Christ gives the meaning, and reveals to us that this is an enchanted world, made so by His coming down from Heaven to earth. Whatever means we use, may we use both our hands and our hearts to tell the story of the most exalted king who “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7) This is incredible, and this is true.