Like the Sony Walkman
and Discman before them, but with a far greater capacity, the iPod and other
MP3 players have blurred the boundaries between inside and outside.
Music evokes something
within us that few other things would seem able to touch. Through Advent (and, indeed, the twelve days
of Christmas) why not carry with you the music of the season, tapping-into memories
of Christmas past.
There are both Advent
and Christmas carols. Advent carols tend
to be quite mournful, whereas Christmas carols tend to be quite joyful – and it
is important that we embrace the opportunity Advent presents us, which is quite
distinct from Christmas. Advent has a
mournful quality to it because we recognise that the world is not as God wills
it to be; and that, while the kingdom of heaven continues to pour in through
tears in the thin membrane between heaven and earth, the world will not fully
be as God wills it to be until Christ returns.
Advent carols express the reality of this present dark world, and the
hope we have, light shining in darkness, light that at times burns very dim,
but is not extinguished.
We have forgotten how
to hold fragile hope in dark places, to shelter candle-light from the
wind. Advent carols resonate with the
mournful hope that the Jewish tradition has nurtured in their darkest
hours. I have heard some Christians say
that the Jews mourn because they still await their Messiah, who has come. How arrogant!
I still wait for the Messiah to come.
Even though I believe he came once before, I wait and long for his
coming. The world is a dark place. My Christian brothers and sisters – along
with believers of other faiths – are persecuted around the world. In the West, we have little experience of
trouble; but mournful hoping is an essential component of authentic faith in
God as revealed through Jesus. Advent is
a very necessary counter-part to the joyful celebration of Christmas. Advent carols are a beautiful counter-part to
Christmas carols.
This Advent, why not
download albums of seasonal music, and prioritise them in your listening,
allowing the sounds to shape us as we make room for Jesus in our lives?
I’m listening to:
Snow Angels by Over The Rhine
Strange Communion, by Thea Gilmore
Sweet Bells, by Kate Rusby
Advent:
making room for Jesus – in your iPod.
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