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By Chris Warrington

If I was to say 'I really don?t mind waiting,' those who know me would just laugh hysterically. So I?ll clarify, by saying 'I don?t mind waiting . . . within reason.'

Most of us probably identify a little more with the clarified statement. The trouble lies within our definition of 'reasonable,' and the problem is compounded further in an instant gratification world that distorts our idea of 'reasonable'as it pertains to waiting.

One thing is for sure - waiting is inevitable, and we?d do well to get used to it.

Maybe that?s why we have such a difficult time with Advent. The whole point of Advent is the waiting and preparation, and we?d eliminate it altogether if we could . . .and why not? Who likes to wait?

We plan our daily schedules to avoid waiting in traffic. We know to avoid the grocery store before a major holiday or snowstorm.

On the other hand, some things are deemed to be simply worth the wait - thousands of people camped for days out in the cold rain to get the latest video game can?t be wrong.

Corporations like Disney have spent millions of dollars to create the illusion of no waiting. Waiting in line at Disney World means having TV monitors to watch, and a line that never stops moving.

We want a Disney Advent - one where the wait is disguised and the line never stops moving.

So we haul out the holly and decorate right after Thanksgiving. Over the next few weeks, we?ll allow Advent to intrude on our month-long Christmas celebration by lighting candles in a wreath, and pay homage to Advent with short readings about Peace, Hope, and Joy.

Once in a while, a 'Repent' or a 'Prepare' may be slipped in, but fear not! Within minutes, we can count on the resounding choruses of Gloria in Excelsis Deo, and Joy to the World to get us back on track. And why not? It?s the Christmas season after all . . . or is it?

A pastoral change at my church one year meant more than a new face in the pulpit. As a congregation, we would learn the difference between the celebration of and the preparation for Christmas.

When the first Sunday of Advent arrived, we were shocked to enter a virtually bare sanctuary. 'Why aren?t we decorated now?' was answered with 'It?s not yet Christmas.'

Pressing for a more elaborate answer yielded responses like 'It?s too soon.'

Really pressing yielded comparisons. 'Advent is included with Christmas the same way that Lent is included with Easter, but Advent is as different from Christmas as Lent is from Easter. Only after such preparation can Christmas become the truly wondrous event that it is.' (Yawn.).

To our credit, we were trying to understand it. Nevertheless, the decorations remained in storage, and carols were off limits, so we resorted

to whining . . .which elicited blunt statements.

This Advent would be different - it would convey a message of expectation and longing. There would be very few, if any Christmas Carols before Christmas Eve. Despite our pleas of 'What are we waiting for?' and 'Go away, John!' the voice of John the Baptist crying in the wilderness would be given more attention than usual. Here was an in-your-face Advent with no attempt being made to disguise the wait.

But Christmas Eve did eventually come as it always does, and oddly enough, when the Christ Candle was lighted and the carols were sung, the mood seemed more joyful than ever.

Shock, in response to a bare sanctuary, had turned to awe. No one wanted to admit it, but maybe we had just learned what we had been waiting for.

Or had we? No sooner had the celebration of Christmas begun, and there it was - right there in the first verse - 'This Child now weak in infancy, our confidence and joy shall be . . .' ('Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light' - pp. 223, the United Methodist Hymnal). What? Is this what we had been waiting for? What do you mean 'The Savior is here, but he?s too little and helpless to do anything right here and now? We?ve got to wait some more? Advent is over now . . .but not yet? Seems a bit unreasonable.'

It?s almost as if God expects us to brush the wait aside and jump right into Christmas. Otherwise, the birth of the Christ child marks an ending rather than a beginning.

There is, no doubt, a great deal of preparation to be done. Henry David Thoreau said 'It?s not enough to be busy - the question is what are we busy about?'

Are we preparing in such a way that Christmas becomes the truly wondrous event that it is? Do our preparations provide a realization that there is reason to hope and have faith in God? That what God once did in real human history, in real human lives, God can do, and is doing, in the lives of people today?

It?s a bit of a shock to be confronted with a never-ending Advent. The challenge is allowing ourselves to be awed by a long Advent of faith.