Be Serious Then Watch the Fun Begin

Last night, our Advent readings began again! 

Each night of December for over twenty years of Decembers, we have read from The Advent Book and we have looked up and read an Old Testament prophecy and its New Testament fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Then we place another ornament with these Bible verses displayed on them on the tree. Both of these items, the Advent book and the box of prophecy ornaments, were a gift from Dwayne's parents back when we were only a few years married.  This year, we've also agreed to add Malcolm Guite's "Waiting on the Word" to the nightly routine, so we will read a poem each evening leading up to Advent. Though our traditions are formally set and can be quite formal in tone, especially when we reading about Jesus's sufferings, it's usually a very casual time, everyone's in casual clothes or pajamas already. The readings often lead to quiet, intense conversations, but sometimes, the readings lead to outright raucous laughter. 

Take last night. Everyone was being sassy and sarcastic, so I read a portion of Aristotle's "Art of Rhetoric" aloud that speaks about insolence. Well, that only prompted everyone to act even more insolently, so the reading divulged into breathless laughter from everyone, especially me, and my anger over their extra insolence caused an indoor snow ball/ pillow fight. Note: I purchased a set of indoor snow balls last Christmas, and these sit in a basket near my chair for obvious reasons. I'm thankful for simple gifts of family and traditions and the heartwarming, funny memories made and those being made. 

Last night's range of moods and events remind me of a Lewis quote from "The Weight of Glory." Towards the end of that essay, he says that people can't always be solemn; we must play. But Lewis says our merriment must be of the kind that begins by taking one another seriously. Last night, our family's merriment was of the kind that began more than twenty years ago by taking each other seriously enough to gather and build a devotional tradition for every evening in December. I still remember that first Advent's awkward beginning. Norah was just a tiny baby, and what would she even remember of that Advent reading? Yet Dwayne and I honored one another by sitting on the couch with the baby, being serious when we were usually casual and light-hearted. We started something sacred. We read the book, looked up the Scriptures, and we ourselves had to hang the ornaments for our then infant daughter. Now I see that we may have done this for one another as much as we did it for her, and we may still maintain this tradition for one another as much as we do it for our kids. So now, our family shares that true merriment that comes, as Lewis describes, after we have honored one another by being serious.