Have you seen this article in the New York Times? Seems the culture of fear that has been seeping into North American culture has been cropping up in Japan, as well, and that has produced a uniquely Japanese response: urban camouflage. It's a clever bit of consonance, even if it doesn't work. It might be fun to get one of these outfits and wear it around Toronto just to see what kind of reactions it gets. But I'll start by getting hands on a Utilikilt. That would clash with the culture of Toronto a bit, but not if I wore it back in Seattle. I wouldn't mind getting a formal kilt too, sometime. But first I have to figure out what my family tartan would be. Again that would be playing with the boundaries of fitting in or not.
I've been thinking a lot about how much leakage to allow of Christmas into Advent. Advent is really a penitential period of preparation for the feast of Christ's incarnation (Christmas). The "Christmas Season" is really the 12 Days of Christmas, not the period of feverish shopping just before! I suppose in this sense the evangelicals' uneasiness with the commercialization of Christmas has some purchase.
I'm told in my books that historically the Christian effort to make Advent into such a period of penitence in preparation for Christmas was not entirely successful. It was introduced by the Council of Tours in 567. It was originally longer, beginning on November 11th, but was shortened in the ninth century. It was sometimes called "Winter Lent." No marriages were allowed, nor organ until Advent III. But people's enjoyment of the winter solstice could not be entirely repressed.
But "tradition" alone is not a sufficient argument to keep Christmas carols at bay. We have to consider the underlying liturgical principles. I firmly believe that the liturgical calendar is a useful and worthy Christian discipline that has more than history to commend it. It creates a structure for "the work of the people" (i.e. literally "liturgy") and structure is necessary! Indeed, every time we utter a word of the Gospel or make any religious gesture whatsoever, we have introduced structure. It's form into formlessness (to use Buddhist terms) or creation into Chaos (a nod to Genesis).
En arche en ho logos, kai ho logos en pros ton theon, kai theos en ho logos.(That mantra gives me the chills.)
In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God" (John 1:1)).
Anyway, the point is that increased differentiation and intention of things like liturgical seasons results in a more articulate expression of the Gospel. The very fact that not doing Christmas Carols causes a feeling of privation in some is evidence that the boundaries created by the liturgical seasons have relevance and ritual power. It's a meaningful dissonance with the prevailing culture.
So this all seems like a good argument for preserving the distinctiveness of Advent. Yet here is where things can get hard for me. The question arises, "Am I being too hard on people?" It's the Matthew 23:4 dilemma--no one wants to be the priest who ties up heavy burdens too hard to bear. My instinct is to be agreeable and to make people happy by giving them the things they want. But maybe I should be going for the option that promises the most potential for spiritual growth? And yet maybe I'm just being overly strict, rule-bound and parsimonious?
I know, it seems like I'm thinking too much about this. But believe you me, there are people that care a lot about the results of my discernment about this. More prayer is needed.
Oh, of course this doesn't mean much for tomorrow's sermon. I should think some about that, now!
-t
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