Weathering the Bleak Midwinter

I’m not a Christmas person at all.?

It’s not like I’m the Grinch. I just find the season pretty disheartening.

That’s probably a strange way to kick off an email about Advent, especially when the theme of the first week is hope.?

I’ve just always been this way. I’ve attended Christmas services and sermons in the leadup to the holiday, and I often feel hollow when I exit the sanctuary and see everyone else radiating, well, hope. For Christians, the focus is usually placed on what we should feel, not on what we do feel.

I’ve wondered—if I don’t feel it, what does that say about me?

Before this turns any drearier, my point is this—despite your church’s best efforts, there will be people who feel isolated by precisely the kind of language that is intended to invite them in.

This is the challenge of hope.

?

Absence & Advent

If you’ve heard a typical Advent service, a common thread is that they reflect on disappointment. There’s some discussion of all the material things that let us down at Christmas before a triumphant segue to how Christ can offer hope.

These sermons pit “false” hope against “real” hope and expect that the conclusion will be obvious. After all, if you contrast the image of hallmark sentimentality with the image of the manger, one of those should feel more real—more deserving of hope, right??

Maybe not. I sometimes wonder if our focus subtly shifts to iconography instead of its purpose—like we stop just before getting to the real “so what?” of the holiday so that the symbol usurps what it represents. We point to the manger instead of pointing past it. Some people may be able to naturally take the next step to “the real,” or at least find comfort purely in an icon, but for others, it will remain an image that dissipates on December 26th, just like the faux-warmth of a Christmas film.?

So, what would it look like for churches to present a more robust hope during Advent?

?Honestly, I’m not sure. That’s above my theological paygrade, but I do know that for some people, the bleak midwinter will stay bleak, and that’s a space for churches to extend extra grace in light of the weight of their message.?

To some people, Christmas will always feel cathartic—like the culmination of hope—but to others, it will always just feel like hope deferred. It will make them acutely aware of hope’s absence, and this is difficult to reconcile with God’s presence.

Some people in your church need more than commiseration. They need you to hope for them.

-brice

?

Some relevant Advent resources I like:

In The Bleak Midwinter - John Van Deusen – The hopeful melancholia of Van Deusen’s “All Shall Be Well” carries throughout this low-key Christmas album, and I’m a big fan.

Liturgies for Uncertainty - Culture Care Podcast — I adore Mako Fujimura’s CultureCare project. This year, its long-dormant podcast returns with an Advent series inviting listeners to “lean into the discomfort of the uncertain, of the almost-but-not-yet parts of our humanity.” It’ll be awesome.

Peppermint Meringue Cookies – Epicurious — There’s no hidden spiritual meaning here. These just look really good and everybody should attempt a meringue during the holidays.