Waiting upon the Lord

Advent is the season when we await the Lord’s coming. The coming of the babe in the manger, his coming into our lives at every moment, especially through his word and sacrament, and his coming at the end of the age with the saints and angels in glory. In that spirit, Advent may be a good time for us to commit (or re-commit!) ourselves to spiritual disciplines that can create a space where we can wait upon the Lord.

The obvious ones are prayer, fasting, scripture reading and almsgiving, and of course regular attendance at worship and reception of the sacrament. I have used (sporadically) a version of the Daily Office published by a group of Anglican Franciscans whose cycle of daily prayer changes depending on the season (most versions of the office follow a similar pattern). The canticles, collects, scripture readings, etc. are chosen to reflect the themes of the season.

Learning some of the church’s great Advent hymns might also be a good idea. This year I’m hoping to spend some time dipping into the poetry of George Herbert. Some people suggest keeping an Advent wreath in the home, or the always-popular Advent calendar.

As a season of patient waiting and expectation Advent seems like the ideal counterweight to the frenzy of consumerism and anxiety that so many people in the prosperous west experience as the “holiday season.”