Slow Down

No matter what pace you are keeping—whether you are walking on the sidewalk, running at the park, or driving down the highway—other people are always passing you. Everyone is in such a hurry. You may wonder where they are going at such a breakneck pace, but you also have to admit that you feel the nagging temptation to speed up.

Lots of voices out there encourage you to move along, get more done, check more things off your list. Your boss keeps setting benchmarks closer to one another, so deadlines approach with alarming speed. Retailers and online vendors announce sales that end tomorrow, so you feel pressured to make the purchase today.  As the invitations and announcements pour in and your calendar fills with events and opportunities, you begin to wonder whether you are the one who is driving or the one who is driven.

In the midst of this pressure to hurry from place to place, task to task, person to person; it becomes increasingly difficult to discern what God is doing in your life. Peace on earth, hope of the ages, joy to the world, and the transforming power of love become little more than greeting card sentiments. In haste your “hallelujah” becomes “humbug.”

Advent comes as an invitation to slow down. It is a season of waiting and it reminds God’s people of the way God continues to complete the work of salvation in God’s good time. Together we linger over the reality of God’s patience with us and with all creation. We take the time to contemplate God’s marvelous grace which extends from generation to generation. We savor the complex richness of God’s unfathomable love.

As we move through this month toward the celebration of our Savior’s birth, let me invite you to rest a while. Resist the temptation to cram in every sale, concert, party, or parade; but consider carefully your opportunity to join the faithful who come to worship and adore the new born king.