The Spirituality of Advent, Day 6, Week 2

Today's entry is about preparation in a way that I had not been prepared for.  This goes to show that despite the best and most explicit plans (like writing at the start of the week what I had intended to write about for the whole week) sometimes there are spiritual connections made that come from places we never expect.

In some ways, today's entry will sound like it could be used as a motivation for the entire series or spirituality of Advent writings.  In other ways, what I will be writing about tonight will read like it could be a summary of the entire spiritual experience.  However, I have arrived at this point in the middle of this spiritual exploration of Advent.

Today was the annual Festival of Lights at the Waldorf School of Baltimore.  This is a festival each year that celebrates the many festival of lights that occur at this time of year.  This includes Advent, Hanukah, and Kwanzaa.  Each year a family gets to light the Advent wreath and the Hanukah candles.  This year, the small eighth grade class lit the candles for Kwanzaa.  This year, my family was chosen to light the Advent Wreath.

In the middle of the afternoon, my wife wrote me an email to remind me that I should have my "speech" ready as the spokesperson for the family.  I had thought about what I would say, but this was a clear reminder to me to be prepared for the evening.  Nice to fit into the theme of the week of the candle of preparation.

As the time for the start of the Festival of Lights, I wrote the following on the program for the event:

Pre-Christian
Christian
My Evolution
Prophecy-Hope
Bethlehem-Preparation
Shepherd-Joy
Angel-Love

For this list, I was borrowing directly from http://livinghopeomaha.wordpress.com/about-living-hope/bible-stud/the-meaning-of-the-advent-wreath/http://livinghopeomaha.wordpress.com/about-living-hope/bible-stud/the-meaning-of-the-advent-wreath/.

And here is a paraphrase of what I said:

Tonight, my family has been asked to light the Advent wreath.  If we look at the history of the Advent wreath, there is at least some evidence suggesting that it originated in pre-Christian times.  People lighting fires to bring back the light at the darkest time of year.  Then, Christianity adapted it with symbols of Christ rather than simply avoiding darkness.  

The evolution of the Advent wreath through history reminds me of the evolution of my own understanding.  The wreath here has candles that are all one color.  But sometimes they are two colors.  When I was Daniel and Joshua's ages [they were at the table with the wreath with me and Sherry] all I knew about the third candle which is a different color was that it meant that Advent was almost done.

When I was a little older than my oldest son Christopher, who is not here this evening, and I began to take my faith a little more seriously, I had the experience of the third week of Advent with the entire Catholic community where I attended college being brought together in a single mass to celebrate the joy of the week. 

As I got even more mature and took my faith even more seriously, I realized that there is a rhythm to the meaning of the candles.  There are many different interpretations to what the candles mean.  One that I find useful is the following:

The first candle is for Prophecy and Hope.  The hope for something new and something better as Christians wait for the celebration of the birth of their Savior.

The second is for Bethlehem and Preparation.  Preparation for the birth of the Savior in Bethlehem.

The third is the Shepherds and Joy.  A reminder that the joy was first shared with the shepherds--among the least of those who worshipped God [I felt like I was channeling Father Sam Lupico who loves to point out that most of Jesus's positive interactions with individuals other than his apostles was with those at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder at the time.]

The final candle is for the Angle and Love.  The angel who announced the birth of Jesus.

And whether Christian or non-Christian, the unifying and universal truths of Hope, Preparation, Joy, and Love are things that are worth all of us pondering.

Numerous people told me they liked what I shared.  The mother in the family that lit the Hanukah handles told me that my description of my own experience inspired her to talk about her family's experience.  The one thing that really made an impression on me was that she comments on a blessing that thanked God for the miracles of old and miracles of today.  And she invited all of us to think of a miracle in our lives right now.  I had not realized that I would inspire a second story about the universal nature of the positive values that come through the celebration of the various celebrations of light at this time of year.

Are beliefs interchangeable?  No.

Can everyone possibly be right?  No.

But everyone probably has some kernel of the truth.  And everyone can benefit from the interconnectedness.

The key for me is that spirituality is separate from religion.  Spirituality is driven by the sense of interconnectedness.  Spirituality is driven by the sense that I am a part of something much bigger.  Some call the higher power God.  Some just refer to it as a higher power.  I'm not one to worry about what each person around me calls it.  But I am a person who believes that the interconnectedness that I feel is something special.  A blessing.  A challenge.  And something that helps me to move forward in the most productive manner.      

The Spirituality of Advent, Day 2, Week 2

Today I will talk about preparation for cooking.  

Preparation for cooking means many things.  It means having the right ingredients on hand in the house.  This issues my family experiences here can be missing anything from a spice we don't use very often to poor control over the number of eggs, amount of sugar, amount of butter, amount of oil, or amount of flour in the house.  These are usually things that can be fixed but require leaving home.

It means having the right equipment.  Is there a whisk?  Do we have enough clean measuring cups?  How about clean bowls?  Frying pans?  These are the types of things that also can be fixed.  Usually it just means washing something when it was not expected.

It means allowing enough time.  We waited until after the end of Chanukah this year to make our annual latke meal mostly because of the time required.  Even on the weekend when we finally made the latkes, we waited until we had the right proportion of a day to work in.  Preparation and planning go hand in hand.

It means preparing the ingredients to be ready in the right order and at the right time.  Stir fry is a great example here.  But when preparing to fry latkes, it also means taking all the right steps with the potatoes.  This year, my eight year old, having made them at school again, suggested squeezing the potato shreds in a cheese cloth.  It worked wonderfully to prepare them for frying making this the best year yet.

It means having the right beverage to go along with what is cooked.  Many times the exact beverage does not matter so much.  But sometimes things need to be just right.  Eggnog at Christmas Eve.  Cider at a fall dinner.  Sometimes the right wine--or at least the right type of wine to complement a meal.  

So many aspects of preparation.  And when everything is prepared just so, things tend to work out very well.  Great experience with creating the food.  Great taste when the food is prepared.  Smiles on the faces of the people who are eating as they enjoy the food and the company.  When things don't go so right with the food, it can make for a poor dinner in many ways.  Less camaraderie.  More complaints.  And those seem to affect interpersonal relations as much as they affect the food.

So how does this relate to spirituality.  Well, cooking is a gift,  The food is a gift from God.  So those are easy and simple ways to talk about the relationship between cooking and spirituality, but not the only ways.

More importantly at this time of year, when we hear over and over again the message of the expectation around Jesus coming and the expectation of the second coming and how (for those who believe) being ready for the second coming means something, it is an excellen reflect of the exploration of multiple facets of one's like.  Cooking works when everything works.  Yes, there are some shortcuts or places in which there might be ways to get around certain things.  But generally, cooking works when everything works.  Getting to Heaven doesn't mean being perfect.  In fact, Catholics believe in forgiveness.  Jesus worked with sinners.  But there is still preparation that can be done to improve all parts of life in ways that are more consistent with the way that God asks us to live through the commandments.  With the lessons Jesus passed on through the Beatitudes and the great commandment.  

Spiritual preparation for the rest of life on Earth and the afterlife is not something done once.  Just like cooking, it is done every day and involves many facets.  

"Drawing Warmth Out of the Cold"--Dar Williams

On the last day before I begin my Advent blogging in earnest, I will reflect on lights and warmth and the spirit that binds people together at this time of year.  Over the past several years, at this time of year, I have reflected on a song that I believe I first heard on WTMD—the Towson University radio station.  It is a song by Dar Williams called The Christians and the Pagans.  The song is a nice example of story telling about things that have the potential to draw us together even when they also have the potential (sometimes just as strong) to pull us apart.  The basic plot of the story that is told is that a woman and what I presume to be her partner from the way the story is told were celebrating solstice near the home of one woman’s uncle.  They call the uncle looking for a place to stay.  As the story unfolds the pagan traditions of celebrating solstice are shown to be not so different in spirit from the Christian traditions around the holidays.  And the feeling of love and family that comes from this gathering of individuals is projected onto other family relations.

I am someone who just likes to see people get along (although I won’t quote Rodney King here).  I am someone with the conviction of my personal beliefs; however, I am usually unwilling and uninterested in imposing on others.  I like to think that when all is said and done most of what different cultures and religions believe is not interchangeable by any means but comes from a common sense of humanity that can be shared rather than driving divisions between us.  So, the song speaks to me.

At this season of the year, this type of theme makes me think of the Festival of Lights at the Waldorf School of Baltimore.  The festival does not celebrate pagan traditions—except to the degree that a basic human motivation is to enjoy light in what is otherwise a time of darkness as the shortest day of the year approaches.  The Festival does not celebrate the pagan traditions directly but celebrates Chanukah, Advent, and Kwanzaa.  All of those festivals involve bringing light.  All the festivals focus (as in the song by Dar Williams) on making sense of history. The common theme is clear.  The music that comes with each of them is generally music of joy and rejoicing that there is hope where there might otherwise be despair. 

The song by Dar Williams ends with the phrase “drawing warmth out of the cold.”  This goes along with hope when there might otherwise be despair, and this line has so many meanings as I read it in the lyrics online and listen to the song.

First, it could mean the warmth of being in the light. Warmth in this case being a feeling of protection.  Being able to find my way when I am lost.  A sense of security. 

Second, following on the first, it follows that light comes from fire on the candles.  Fire on the candles is a small version of the fire that keeps me warm.  Fire can be a bon fire.  Fire can be in a fireplace.  Fire can even be natural gas being burned in a heater to make me warm at home. 

Third, it could mean the warm feelings that come from being part of a family or community that celebrates the Advent or Chanukah tradition (or even a pagan tradition) together.  The feeling of being part of a group.  The feeling of being surrounded by those who share the tradition.  Who share the values.

Fourth, it can be running at this time of year.  I know this is on a non-religious tangent.  But, running at sunrise in December is certainly a situation in which I am surrounded by people whose values I share (when it comes to running) and in the cold seeking warmth.  The celebration is of nature even when it is cold.  On the NCR trail, even with the temperature being just at 20F, the stream was running with the sound of the water running over the rocks being just audible.  The annual trees are bare and seeing the light of the sun rise and shine through the trees is beautiful.  The animals are out early in the morning and a runner or group of runners can see squirrel, rabbits, deer, and others.  Quiet on the trail brings its own beauty.  The warmth also comes from the sharing of values, the seeking of excellence, the attainment of goals—the number of miles, the speed, etc.  Just doing.  Most of the celebration described here may be linked to what some consider to be “God-given” talents or gifts from God including fitness, health, and speed.  But the celebrations of nature, silence, the noises of nature, trees, etc., could be just as much pagan celebrations and reasons for a spiritual warmth as Christian tradition or any other religion.

Fifth, drawing warmth out of the cold can reflect what happens when we bake and share the still warm baked goods.  The oven warms the home.  The food warms the body.  The sharing of food (specific to Chanukah like latkes) or otherwise, warms the soul.

Sixth, it could mean coming together over wine or anything else in this time of cold and dark.  Just coming together with a common bond wanting to enjoy and share. 

I’m sure if I spent the time, I could think of other things that drawing warmth out of the cold represents at this time of year.  In some cases a physical warmth.  In some cases a spiritual warmth.  In all cases, things that make people feel safe and secure and bind them together into a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts—no matter what the world view, motivation, or tradition that results in being bound together.