“Let us go now…so they went with haste.” LUKE 2:14
“I’d been asleep about an hour,” shared my bleary-eyed. 36-year-old son, Calvin. “The rain woke me up. Relentless. Clock read12:11am.” A warm bed on a cold night is pretty tough to surrender. Few things in life are more delicious than knowing you’re dry and safe on your side of the window—not saturated. Cold and miserable on the other side. “I knew I needed to get out of bed and check the facility,” he continued. “I tried to convince myself all would be fine, and I could get back to sleep. “Deep down I sensed all was not right…
Calving lives in his church’s studio apartment. Beside the required ecclesiastical duties of preaching, teaching and running the youth department there’s an unspoken arrangement: when everyone leaves for the day, he’s the de facto maintenance guy—turning off errant alarms, doublechecking windows and making sure the unhoused guy is off the entry way stoop by 8am when the kids show up for preschool. And so, after resisting the temptation of hiding under the blankets and silencing his inner voice trying to assure that everything was okay, Calvin reluctantly got up, navigated two flights of darkened stairs and steeped outside.
“The courtyard was ankle deep,” he vividly recalled. “Drains clogged. “Water cascading into the nursery school. Turning back not an option. 12:46am.” For the next four and a half hours drains were unclogged, floors were shop vac’d and sandbags repositioned. Whew! Disaster averted. No insurance adjusters to call in the morning. No premium increases. Unaware parents dropped off energetic children for class in the morning. Life continued without interruption. Nobody noticed.
Some might think I’m sharing this story to brag a little about my son. Okay, you got me. Just a little. But here’s another reason. Unless you’re an insomniac who enjoys playing Captain Ahab in torrential rainstorms, you probably relate to the temptation of staying cocooned in a warm bed when a metaphorical storm is brewing outside. Many of us have mastered the art of ignoring.
Advent heralds a different message. It’s really our annual call to wake up, get up, step outside and act in ways that display the heart of God. This was the Jesus way. He didn’t run off to a spa in the desert and record podcasts. Jesus stepped into the world each day, opening himself up to real human challenges. Think about it. Pause for a second. In the frenetic, life-draining activity of purchasing gifts, fighting mall crowds, and filling social calendars during the season, ask yourself this question: is this really why the Christ child was birthed? Is Christmas about Home Depot sales, outdoing our neighbor’s light display and helping credit card companies exceed their quarterly projections? Christmas is so much more.
But getting swept up into the current of missing the point is easy. I’m guilty. So how can I practically and specifically challenge myself to throw off the warm covers, get-up, and step outside the boundaries of my comfort to meet the world like Jesus did? Here’s an idea. Remember Advent calendars? As a kid I loved the thrill of opening a new little window each day leading up to December 25th. Every morning a different surprise. A picture. A quote. A daily activity to anticipate, reminding me of the why of the season.
So, I’ve created a new kind of Advent calendar. Each day leading up to Christmas, I pick a slip of paper out of a basket with a challenge I’ve created—a challenge calling me to do something to keep me focused on the reason for the season…
December 7th—thank and leave a generous tip for someone who does a good job that I’m glad I don’t have to do.
December 8th—email a ministry leader, ask them about their biggest challenge and pray for them.
December 9th—write a note of encouragement to a colleague, complimenting on their hard work.
December 10th—write down 10 things for which I’ grateful.
December 11th—walk a small gift across to my neighbor and wish them a wonderful Christmas.
December 12th—send a Christmas card to someone I have not communicated with in years.
December 13th—turn off the news and sing a Christmas carol driving to work.
You get the idea. And now you can make your own challenges.
One cold night two thousand years ago, in fields outside of Bethlehem, a bunch of ragtag shepherds encountered God in a powerful way. Awakened out of their slumber, these terrified men were invited on a new journey—a life altering journey changing both themselves and the world. Staying warm next to their evening fires was certainly an option. But getting up and leaving to greet this Christ child would call them to new ways of being and acting. “let’s go…shares Saint Luke”. And they went with haste.” No longer sheep tenders. They would now carry a new story of hope and love. A story we also carry today. Getup! Let’s go!
Bruce Main
President and Founder
Urban Promise
Camden, NJ