One of our baby Jesus-less nativity scenes.

I’ve been tempted to cancel Lent before, but never Advent. I’m a true Advent-lover. At church we sing Advent hymns—no Christmas carols until Christmas Eve. At home we do Advent candles and a calendar. Even my 13-year-old daughter takes Advent seriously; she has put away the baby Jesuses from our nativity sets and says she’ll put them out on Christmas Eve.

This year, though, there’s a part of me that wants to skip the waiting and the contemplation and the somber reflection. To skip the apocalyptic texts and the wild prophets in the wilderness. There’s a part of me that just wants to do full-on Christmas for the next month.

I keep thinking of the song “We Need a Little Christmas.” It’s a snappy tune, but I’ve always found it to be kind of a sad song: “For I’ve grown a little leaner, grown a little colder, grown a little sadder, grown a little older.” We need a little Christmas when real life is difficult. We need a little Christmas when the real world is bleak. So, yes, maybe we do need a little Christmas now.

But we also need a little Advent. A little time to light candles of hope, peace, joy, and love against the news of despair, violence, misery, and hatred that bombards us.

There is nothing wrong with the glittering lights, the cheerful music, the superficial happiness that has come to identify the cultural season of Christmas. Being happy—even for a brief time—is good. But it will not sustain us.

Flickering Advent candle flames might not be as spectacular as dancing Christmas lights; the mournful strains of “O Come, O Come, Immanuel” may not be as cheery as Bruce Springsteen’s rendition of “Santa Clause is Coming to Town.” Advent is not spectacular. It is not cheery. It is merely holy. I would venture to say that while we may want a little Christmas, we need a little Advent right this very minute . . . or at least this coming Sunday.

I plan to post (almost) daily this Advent season. Three years ago I hosted an Advent blog that was written by a bunch of wonderful Mennonites. . . . The liturgically minded among you already know where this is going. While our world continues to change, the Revised Common Lectionary readings (God bless ‘em) come around again every three years. So most of the posts will be replays of some wonderful reflections from 2014, along with a few links to Advent liturgies.

In the meantime, you can find seasonal liturgies and writings by going to “Categories” on the right side bar and click on “Advent/Christmas” and/or going to the index page and scrolling down to the “Advent” section.

If you are looking for resources for special services:

• here is an order of worship for a Blue Christmas/Longest Night type service
• a traditional Christmas Eve service
• a more contemporary Christmas Eve service.

Blessings to you as you prepare for and live into the holy season of Advent.