On The Table

I'm not liturgically reared or inclined, so the Christmas season-- er, I mean Advent-- still seems a little strange to me. I'm told that Advent is a penitential season, and so it's considered inappropriate to begin the celebration of Jesus' birth until the actual holiday is upon us. Until then, it's to be a time of waiting for Jesus, and all that he brought, and all that we're still waiting for him to bring.

Which is a pretty nice way to do Chris... --Advent, I must say. I cheat a little, to be honest (it was fun to listen to some Christmas songs at the Peruvian Chicken spot where my daughter and I had lunch yesterday, for example). But focusing on Jesus, and remembering the generations of longing that preceded his arrival is a very good practice.

At Common Table, we'll be doing our best to help in this regard. We'll have some daily meditations going out on our Core List (contact the iTeam if you'd like to be added to that busy email list). They're wordless cartoons to spur thought and to perhaps provide a way to talk to your kids about the holiday (we've got some nice tie-ins to use with the kids on Sundays, too).

On Sunday mornings, our friend Ryan P. will be leading us through a fascinating comparison of the legendary birth narratives of Caesar Augustus, and the parallels we find there to the Biblical account of Jesus' birth. It promises to be a great lens through which we can see how our own waiting for the traditional Advent themes of Hope, Peace, and Joy is both fulfilled and piqued by Jesus. Join us if you can for the next three weeks at Jammin' Java.

Please mark your calendars for the annual Christmas Party and its attendant non-competitive competitions related to chili, gingerbread, and whatever else we can throw on the fire. This is a great time to hang out, to catch up, and to see the old friends who always seem to drop by. We'll be holding it again at the Fairfax Railroad Museum on the evening of Sunday, December 16.

We're also excited to be joining forces with our friends at Fairlington Presbyterian Church and some other kindred congregations on December 23 for a Christmas Service. We'll have more details as the planning for the service develops, but if you'll be in the area for the holiday, plan to turn out for this great partnership with our friends Matt and Jan.

Wishing you fruitful waiting and fulfillment this Advent,
Mike Stavlund

P.S. from the other Mike - the one who is liturgically reared and inclined - there is a Christmas season too; it starts on 25 December and lasts for 12 days (hence the song about lords-a-leaping and French hens and whatnot). But I also cheat during Advent, and will be busting out the Christmas tunes to decorate the tree this weekend. :-)

And after that there's a season called Epiphany, but that's another story....

Labels: Advent, Christmas