Comfortable Christmas
Who loves waiting? Let me present a few statements that I dare you to say with a group of friends or on your social media post just for the sake of a reaction. “I love waiting for a text after seeing that I was left on read”, “Waiting in traffic is the best” or better yet “Paying for Amazon Prime is a waste of money, why would anyone pay to receive packages earlier?”
There is something uncomfortable about waiting, it’s a natural human experience that everyone goes through. People that handle waiting well usually are praised and labeled a patient person while those that aren’t good at waiting are called inpatient or an anxious person. We as a society thrive on instant gratification. Our culture has conditioned us to avoid most forms of waiting by training us to shove our faces in front of a screen the moment we feel any discomfort and constantly encourages us to pay someone and/or something to make things quicker, efficient or more “comfortable”. Our own bodies work in this manner. Studies prove that individuals receive a rush of dopamine (otherwise known as the “pleasure chemical”) when they receive a text message or any other type of notification on the phone. Biology and psychology both can explain why so many of us are hooked on it. As a whole, we have done a really good job on distracting ourselves from any possible good that can come from waiting.
Yet, our Christian faith often calls to us to lean into the uncomfortableness of waiting, most especially during this season of Advent. The focus of Advent in the Catholic Church is to purposely focus on this theme of waiting. We are called to reflection, penance, and to wait for the arrival of our Lord on Christmas day. We wait because encountering Christ is something that takes preparation. We wait because we want to allow God to touch our hearts, which requires setting aside all of the distractions that are pulling at us.
During the Christmas season the chances of you stumbling across a nativity scene are really high. Some of us might even have a nativity set somewhere in our house or tucked away in our memories from traditions that our parents tried passing on to us. The nativity scene is a window in time when all of creation acknowledges the physical manifestation of our creator in the form of an infant. This beautiful art devotion was given to us by St. Francis of Assisi and it gives us a glimpse into an intimate moment that took place within the holy family. It even provides us an opportunity to relate to them.
The Gospel of Luke’s first couple of chapters give us a window into this intimate family life. According to a church tradition St. Luke was able to gather the infancy narrative of our Lord Jesus Christ from living with our blessed mother. Could you have imagined the anticipation and excitement our lady must’ve experienced throughout her whole pregnancy the moment she was told she was going to conceive Our lord? Many of us can barely wait on our Prime shipping to arrive. I’m willing to bet that some of us even refresh the page app to see if the anticipated delivery date and time has changed to an earlier arrival.
Think about this, people had a pretty good idea of how long it takes for a baby to form but it has only been in more modern times where we understand exact time frames for baby development and can also even predict or medically induce labor. Having a child 2000 years ago was also a much more dangerous endeavor than today. Mary had to spend months waiting in uncertainty, yet she trusted fully in the Lord. Our lady’s fiat allowed God’s divine will to physically manifest to the world. She said yes, and then she waited, allowing God to work in her heart and bring his plan for her to fruition.
When we wait, we experience the fullness of that which we are waiting for. Christmas is not just 24 hour ordeal; our church celebrates Christmas across the span of 12 days. Does all of that anticipation of waiting go away after Dec 25? Don’t let our current culture of instant gratification rob you of the opportunity to dive deeper into the faith and enter the moment all of creation rejoiced in the birth of our lord. Don’t be afraid to lean into the uncomfortableness of waiting during the final days of this Advent Season. Christmas day marks the beginning of a season of festivity. Until then, we wait...
Diego Araujo is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville who has served as a youth and young adult minister in several parishes in Brooklyn and Pittsburg. As a member of the NYC Catholic Retreat Team he has ministered as a keynote presenter and small group leader. Currently he works as a licensed social worker.
