Over the last
several weeks, I’ve seen a steady but predictable decrease in students
attending midday prayer in the chapel and an equal increase in people coming on
their own to de-stress through meditation or jamming on the piano. Students studying
English as an Additional Language are learning the word “stress” for the first
time and even the cafeteria is unusually empty over lunch.
It is strangely
counter-intuitive, then, to begin December with a practice of quietness which
helps us step back from the rush of exams and holiday preparations to simply wait. This doesn’t have to take a great
deal of time, but I encourage you to set the coming season apart as different,
as new, the hope-filled waiting that our ancestors declared it to be.
When I was a
student, I found my Advent practice to be particularly refreshing amidst the
busyness because it reminded me that there was more to life than my impending
exams; that this too would pass and the world we long for will one day be a
reality. Each night before going to sleep I would light the appropriate candles
in my Advent wreath and say a simple prayer before sitting in silence before
God, watching and waiting for something much more than the end of term.
My second
practice during school was a wonderful little Advent meditation put out by my
Lutheran chaplain friend, Sherry Coman, and her colleagues. Last year it
included a short reflection, some kind of service response to the reflection
happening in the world, a musical meditation, and a prayer. What it’s going to
look like this year is still a surprise! I’ll post the URL here when it becomes
available on December 1st, but in the meantime check out their
facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/574263379294230/.What about you? What kinds of contemplative practices are you going to engage this Advent as you practice waiting and watching?
Last year I was a train wreck! But that brought me to a greater understanding of Advent. I'm still learning how to wait upon God.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what practices , I will be engaging yet. Maybe someone will surprise me with something :)
You make a good point Paul- I'm sure that my most fruitful experiences of Advent have been when I've had zero to offer, was too spent to do contemplation "properly" and just ended up sitting before God each night. Train wrecks know a thing or two about waiting and hope!
ReplyDeleteI recommend listening to Sergei Rachmaninoff "Vespers" this time of year (and other times, too). Here is my favourite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW2w2ApVY5M
ReplyDelete