“Let us go now…so they went with haste.” Luke 2:14
“I’d been asleep about a hour,” shared my bleary-eyed, 36 year old son, Calvin. “The rain woke me up. Relentless. Clock read 12:11am.”
A warm bed on a cold, rainy night is pretty tough to surrender. Few things in life are more delicious than knowing you’re dry and safe on your side of the window—not saturated, cold and miserable on the other side.
“I knew I needed to get out of bed and check the facility,” he continued. “I tried to convince myself all would be fine and I could just go back to sleep. Deep down I sensed all was not right….”
Calvin lives in his church’s studio apartment. Besides the required ecclesiastical duties of preaching, teaching and running the youth department there’s an unspoken arrangement: when everyone leaves for the day, he’s the de facto maintenance guy—turning off errant alarms and double checking windows.
And so after resisting the temptation of hiding under the blankets and silencing his inner voice trying to assure that everything was okay, Calvin reluctantly got up, navigated two flights of darkened stairs and stepped outside.
“The courtyard was ankle deep,” he vividly recalled. “Drains clogged. Water cascading into the nursery school.”
Turning back not an option. 12:46am.
For the next four and half hours drains were unclogged, floors were shop vac’d and sand bags re-positioned. Whew! Disaster averted. No insurance adjusters to call in the morning. No premium increases. Unaware parents dropped energetic children off for class in the morning. Life continued without interruption. Nobody noticed.
Some might think I’m sharing this story to brag a little about my son. Okay, you got me. Just a little. But here’s another reason. Unless you’re an insomniac who enjoys playing Captain Ahab in torrential rain storms, you probably relate to the temptation of staying cocooned in a warm bed when a metaphorical storm is brewing outside. Many of us have mastered the art of ignoring.
Advent heralds a different message. It’s really our annual call to wake up, get up, step outside and act in ways that display the heart of God. This was the Jesus way. He didn’t run off to a spa in the desert and record podcasts. Jesus stepped into the world each day, opening himself to real human challenges.
Think about it. Pause for just a second. In the frenetic, life-draining activity of purchasing gifts, fighting mall crowds, and filling social calendars during this season, ask yourself this question: is this really why the Christ child was birthed? Seriously. Is Christmas about Home Depot tree sales, outdoing our neighbor’s light display and helping credit card companies exceed their quarterly projections? Christmas is so much more.
But getting swept up into the current of missing the point is easy. I’m guilty. So how can I practically and specifically challenge myself to throw off the warm covers, get up, and step outside the boundaries of my comfort to meet the world like Jesus did? Here’s an idea…
Remember Advent Calendars? As a kid I loved the thrill of opening a new little window each day leading up to December 25th. Every morning a different surprise. A picture. A quote. A daily activity to anticipate, reminding me of the why of the season.
So I’ve created a new kind of Advent Calendar. Each day, leading up to Christmas, I pick a slip of paper out of a basket with a challenge I’ve created—a challenge calling me to do something to keep me focused on the reason for the season……
December 7th — thank and leave a generous tip for someone who does a job that I’m glad I don’t have to do.
December 8th — email a ministry leader, ask them about their biggest challenge and pray for them.
December 9th — write a note of encouragement to a colleague, complimenting them on their hard work.
December 10th — write down 10 things for which I’m grateful.
December 11th — walk across to my neighbor with a small gift and wish them a wonderful Christmas.
December 12th — send a Christmas card to someone I’ve not communicated with in years.
December 13th — turn off the news and sing a Christmas carol driving to work.
You get the idea. And you can make your own challenges….
One cold night two thousand years ago, in fields outside of Bethlehem, a bunch of rag- tag shepherds encountered God in a powerful way. Awakened out of their slumber, these terrified men were invited to begin a new journey—a life altering journey changing both themselves and the world. Staying warm next to their evening fires was certainly an option. But getting up and leaving to greet this Christ child would call them to new ways of being and acting. “Let us go…” shares Saint Luke “….and they went with haste.” No longer sheep tenders. They would now carry a new story of hope and love. A story we also carry today. Get up! Let’s go!
Bruce Main