Ordinary Eve

We've all had Advent Calenders as a child. Even if your parents weren't Christian the chances are you had some way of marking the days before Christmas, whether it was with pictures, chocolates or sweets. Nowadays there seems to be no difference between Advent and Christmastime but in the Church year these are very different seasons.

The coming

Advent literally means "the coming" and this season is not about Christmas so much as about what it means that Christ came. It's not a celebratory season at all in the Church's mind, it's actually about reviewing your life and sorting things out, a little like Lent. In days gone by people would have given up things for Advent as they do still in Lent. The idea is that you are preparing yourself for Jesus's return to the world as you prepare to celebrate his birth or his first coming.

Look busy

There's a t-shirt that reads "Jesus is coming back, look busy". Ok so that implies that you are making work for yourself but the sentiment is right - if God decided to end time right now would you be ready? Are you at peace? Are there things or relationships that need sorting out in your life?

Advent is a thoughtful time, a challenging time. To prepare yourself you could try giving something up, like chocolate; planning donations or doing some reading.

The most important thing is to think about what God's return would mean - peace, justice, and end to our wars and pettiness. By just meditating on these things we can find ways to peace and justice in our own lives and relationships and more importantly in our world.

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