Advent Thoughts

All week long, I've been thinking about a story I heard on Sunday at church.  It immediately caught me because it was about G.K. Chesterton, and this is a man who was very honest and very jovial all at once when he wrote things on paper. Kind of like Mark Twain, who is another refreshing soul to me from an earlier time in history. 

The pastor said that Chesterton was known in England as an apologetic and a cultural analyst, which intrigued me right away.  I love analyzing cultural patterns, and it confirmed the connection I feel to Chesterton's style of writing. 



Anyway, he was asked to write an essay for The Times about the question, "What is wrong with the world?"  Quite the prompt to introduce your own thoughts.  I found myself shrinking back in my seat immediately and thinking about  how quickly the world becomes 'other' in this pursuit of an honest answer.  But Chesterton says what we all should say....


Dear Sirs,

I am.

Sincerely yours,
G.K. Chesterton


I see that in me too.   However, the recognition of this necessary internal statement has not come to me in a shameful way.  And I've not lived under a cloud in response to what I found so wholeheartedly agreeable about Chesterton's words. 

How big the world gets, how honest our view of a hurting world, and how exciting it is to celebrate Christmas when we remember our own need for change and fullness of life.  And when we think about what God really did.  Removed from our comfortable, posh standard of living in this time in this country, it really stands out again as intense and remarkable.  That happened.  For us. 

 Sometimes I really struggle when I read in history about the horrific things that Christians in the name of God to other people.  The cultural dominance I see sometimes solely in the name of Christianity sickens me.  It is dotted throughout a lot of history.  Sometimes I don't know how to sort it out.   But this whole, 'I am' statement from Chesterton reminded me of the way Jesus meets people so personally, even in their struggle.  When we are most ready to lash out and claim some other thing as a problem, it's best to first remember our humble state before a God who is merciful and hopeful to us. 

THIS is what makes the wait in Advent for the entrance of Jesus so thrilling and meaningful and raw.  What's wrong with the world?  I am.  When I forget that, the world gets topsy turvy and I am tossed on the waves.  When I remember that, the fullness of God not only shows up in my own little corner of the world, but in the grander view of history. 

This year, because of the waiting, the wondering, the relief of eternal hope in an ever changing world, and the kindness of God in meeting us in our very individual hearts, I am eagerly anticipating Christmas in a unique, new way.