The apostle Paul wrote in his letter of pastoral advice to the church in Ancient Corinth of the mystery of what God is doing in the world. To expound upon the notion that God is beyond all knowledge and imagination, and is known because Spirit of God reveals to us what God is up to. Paul quotes Isaiah 64 (the reading from the first Sunday of Advent) in saying:
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him”— 1 Corinthians 2:9
Advent is a time of intentional listening, conversation, reflection in view of engagement, participation and activation. A book I’m working through talks about the challenges we face today an how we need each other to confront and navigate them: “We have never wanted to be alone. But today, we are alone. We are more fragmented and isolated from one another than ever before. Archbishop Desmond Tutu describes is as ‘a radical brokeness in all of existence.’ We move at frantic speed, spinning out onto greater isolation. We seek consolation in everything except each other. The entire world seems hypnotized in the wronger direction – encouraging us to love things rather than people, to embrace everything new without noticing what’s lost or wrong, to choose fear instead of peace. We promise ourselves everything except each other. We’ve forgotten the source of true, contentment and well-being.” – Margaret J. Wheatley in Turning to One Another. p, 8.
I feel that pressure, or pull, or magnetic suction into a way of living in which I’m looking for everything, without being contented with anything, stressed to do and be more, and simultaneously being more and more disconnected and disconcerted. That promise named by Paul is that God is doing, moving, creating and redeeming, not to be secretive for a select few, but rather to prepare good for all of creation. That’s the promise of Advent, of the coming of the Christ child. That’s the potential that I heard yesterday from a seemingly pitiful looking lady on the street who warmly wished me “Happy Holidays” as our paths crossed.
In Advent my hope is to get people talking – to get us talking – to and with each other, looking for what I would call the things that God is doing and birthing. So I’m working to interview different people in Oakland each day asking them to be part of our conversation, responding to the questions:
“What gives you hope these days?”
“What do you think we should be talking about?”
So since it’s my idea, I’ll be the first to go.