Advent
Theme of the Week: God's Astonishing Promise
Sunday, December 18, 2005
 1 of 1
Who Said It …Frederick Buechner
While in high school, Frederick set his sights on writing professionally. After college and two World-War-II years in the military, he published his first novel to critical acclaim. He resigned his teaching job and moved to New York City "to be a full-time writer, only to discover that I could not write a word." Frederick began attending church, was converted, and decided to attend seminary. From then on, Buechner wrote, his job "was to present the faith as appealingly, honestly, relevantly, and skillfully as I could."
What He Said …Advent
The house lights go off and the footlights come on. Even the chattiest stop chattering as they wait in darkness for the curtain to rise. In the orchestra pit, the violin bows are poised. The conductor has raised the baton. The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment.
The Salvation Army Santa Claus clangs his bell. The sidewalks are so crowded you can hardly move. Exhaust fumes are the chief fragrance in the air, and everybody is as bundled up against any sense of what all the fuss is really about as they are bundled up against the windchill factor. But if you concentrate just for an instant, far off in the deeps of yourself somewhere you can feel the beating of your heart. For all its madness and lostness, not to mention your own, you can hear the world itself holding its breath.
Adapted from Beyond Words (HarperSanFrancisco, 2004) by permission.
Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
Lord, keep my familiarity with the trappings of Christmas from blinding me to its quiet but explosive significance.
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