From Our Associate Pastor

I had a roommate in seminary who had a movie watching habit that drove me absolutely crazy.

My roommates and I would often watch movies together and no matter what we watched: whether it was a scary movie or a thriller or a romantic comedy, my roommate Sarah would always pull out her phone and read the Wikipedia summary before the movie started.

This drove me crazy. I am, admittedly, a bit of a movie snob, so I felt personally offended every time she did this. She never spoiled the ending for anyone but herself, but I couldn’t help but think she was ruining the movie experience. Martin Scorcese doesn’t want you to know the surprise twist at the end of Shutter Island! Hitchcock doesn’t want you to know who the thief is in “To Catch a Thief!” Knowing this ahead of time ruins the movie!

None of my artistic arguments could sway her, however. Sarah insisted that knowing the ending of the movie made it somehow more enjoyable. She said she liked to watch the way the film unfolded with the ending in mind. She always liked to skip to the end.

As frustrating as this movie watching choice is to me, I will admit that this desire to skip to the ending is pretty human. And we see this play out especially during the holiday season. The Christmas season moves fast. I already feel behind. It’s easy to try to rush to the end of this season, or to want to get it over with. Some of us want to rush the season because we can’t wait for the joy of Christmas morning with loved ones. Others of us are nursing broken hearts and are eager to see the end of a season with so much joy.

In the church, it’s hard to maintain the season of Advent, this season of reflection and preparation ahead of Christmas day. It’s hard to hold back. There’s this desire to get to the good part, to get to the ending and skip over some of the messy middle. But the truth is, Advent isn’t just a waiting period, it’s a gift in and of itself. In a culture where we are tempted constantly by the “more” of the Christmas season, this season of preparation can actually be a time of less, it can be a time of simplifying our lives so we can make room for what actually matters.

Advent is a time for us to make way for the Christ child to enter our lives. It’s a time for us to slow down and take stock of ourselves and think about how we can better prepare ourselves for the good news of Christmas. What do we need to get rid of, so that the hope of Christmas can actually live in our lives past the new year?

While I still maintain that my roommate was a little ridiculous for looking up the plot to every movie she watched, I do think we as Christians can understand her approach. You see, Sarah never was anxious watching anything. She always knew how the story would work out.

Likewise, we don’t know very many specifics of the plot that lies ahead, but we don’t have to be anxious or nervous, because the God who came to earth as a small child in a backwater Galilean town is the writer of the ending. God is the director of this story, and we know that ultimately it’s a hopeful tale God is spinning all around us. We just have to pay attention. We just have to be patient.

That is good news this Advent season.

Yours in Christ

- Rev. Haley Hansen