NoSoNaBloPubDuAdThi

Welcome to Not So National Blog Publishing During Advent Thingy. I've decided to take on a little project of posting each day during advent. Advent is one of my favorite seasons of the christain year but I don't think most people know much about it, so for the next four weeks I'll add some theology and history, but mostly this will just be my blog, but daily.
Where the culture gets Advent right: preparing for Christmas. Advent is a time of waiting and preparation.
Where the culture gets advent wrong: Advent is a time of dark waiting, Jesus is not with us yet, in the wonderfully weird sense of theological time. This shows the psychological genius of the Liturgical Calendar: theologically and psychologically it is challenging and neccesary to ask what my spiritual director did: What is life like without Jesus? For many I suppose that question has never been posed. Really, what is life like without Jesus? Maybe for you life is no different. That may be just fine with you. maybe it's not, why? Perhaps asking this question will ask others, what is important about Jesus, what did he do if anything. This simple asking puts us in touch with all the early christians as they struggled toward a comprehensive picture of Jesus and his mission. I hope this advent you will ask hard questions, and rest in the darkness of those questions. Doubt and questions live with faith, not against them. Faith is not certainty. Faith is trust. When we trust another we are going out on a limb, there are no guarantess. But life is good when we trust.
I'll leave you with a photo of what advent is not: but entertaining as hell.