Happy New Year! — A little premature? For some it is, but not for others. Different peoples celebrate new year at different times. Our society, which is governed by calendars that marches to the tyrannous beat of time, celebrates the New Year in a mad rush of parties and drink at the end of December. The ancient Celts celebrated New Year on November 1. Chinese New Year is in the spring
So, as a member of another minority culture, I wish you all a Happy New Year. This year, it begins on December 1. We begin another cycle of time, living in the rhythms of that calendar. We look forward to our future, look back to our beginnings, and celebrate our present life in the middle of past and future.
Which minority culture celebrates New Year this Sunday? The Church. We’re no longer a majority in Canada. For some people, that’s bad news. For me, it’s not so much something to mourn as it is a reality which drives us back to our roots. Christian faith grew up in a hostile environment. Today’s environment may not be hostile; it is more accurate to say that it is apathetic to the Church and the gracious good news of God’s love. In some ways, apathy is worse … but that’s another column.
Our year begins with Advent. It comes from the Latin word “adventus” which means “coming” or “arrival.” We begin our year in the life of the Church waiting for the one who has already come. For four weeks, we live in anticipation and hope.
One of the prominent images for this season is “light.” We mark the passage of Advent by lighting candles on an Advent wreath.
The first time I saw this custom, it was explained to me that each of the four candles in the Advent wreath stood for something: these were candles of love … hope … peace … joy. Others told me that each of the candles stood for different participants in the Christmas story: the shepherds … the wise men … Joseph … and finally, Mary. Then on Christmas Eve, in the great climax, we would light the big white candle in the middle, the Christ candle.
But that’s not the real point of the candles in the wreath. The central symbolism of Advent is the growing light as more candles are lit.
We begin in darkness, a powerful image for evil and ignorance. The world is a mess. Pain and suffering and violence abound on all sides. The world is not as God intended it to be. Darkness is all around us, and within us. The minority culture of the church also feels the tug of the majority culture; what some have called the “sellabration of Christmas.”
But that’s not our hope. We long for a world of justice, peace, and compassion. With God, we yearn for a life marked by wholeness and celebration.
In Advent, we begin the new year in symbolic darkness. No candles are burning. We confess the injustice and pain and violence which are so large a part of the life of the world as we know it today.
Then, in an act of daring and profound hope, we light a single candle as a witness to renewing our commitment to walk in the way of the Light of the World. On subsequent Sundays, we light more candles. The light grows. It’s no longer just one little candle burning in the darkness. Now there are two … and three … and four … and more.
On Christmas Eve, we light the Christ candle. Then we light our own small candles, and bear the light into the world. We entrust ourselves to the warm embrace of God’s love as we seek to embody God’s loving purposes in the world.
Happy New Year!
