Two Practices for Advent

 As many of you know, I teach the seminar portion of a Supervised Ministry Practicum class at the Atlantic School of Theology. This past week I was reviewing the book that students are writing their next papers on: Gordon Lathrop’s, The Pastor: A Spirituality.  To end his section on, The Pastor on Preaching: Word,  he urges preachers to focus on two practices – practices that will help the preacher preach and most certainly benefit the hearer-  lively attention and rich imagination.

I am so glad that I decided to pick up and take a fresh look at this book.  The words really spoke to me as I consider this new church year and a journey through the season of Advent. I think the practices of attention and imagination are the practices for everyone to embrace and focus on during this season.

 

The practice of attention – we hear today in the Gospel- Watch for signs – a darkened sun and moon, falling stars to mark the end of time. Jesus’ plea of “Keep awake” is very much one of ‘pay attention.’ Jesus speaks of people knowing the signs of the seasons – summer is coming as the leaves come out on the fig tree. This is akin to observing items as described in the farmers almanac: a narrow width striped on the woollybear caterpillar, an abundance of acorns, or lots of holly berries to determine the harshness of winter. Others note the melting of glaciers, the rising of temperatures, the extinction of animals as signs of the global warming.  There are also those who practice contemplative arts – who pay attention- seeing God in the sunrise, hearing God rustle in the leaves, and wowed by dew on spider webs; filling themselves with a spirit of gratitude.

It certainly doesn’t take much attention to notice that the world is hurting: environmentally, socially, politically, spiritually, emotionally. The signs are clear, warning signs have already turned to reality. The season of Advent offers us imagery and time to reflect on alternative possibilities and relationships – moments of wonder- that can so easily be missed or lost or forgotten.

 

The second practice of Advent counters warning signs that have already turned to reality.

The practice of imagination.

Lathrop’s book describes a letter he received from a friend where his friend quoted the English poet and philosopher William Blake, with Blake more or less saying, imagination destroys tyranny. And then Lathrop continues: Tyranny defines truth literally using that definition to hoard and distribute power. Imagination embraces the other, mystery, and the rich varieties of ambiguity.  Imagination at least has the possibility of serving a community.

Let’s think about this for a moment.

Jesus lived in a time of Roman tyranny. It was a time of unrighteousness on the part of Chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees.  Truth – fake news- was spun to keep power and hoard wealth.  Into this environment Jesus didn’t pour facts, state claims, or dictate rules or lists, rather Jesus asked questions, used similes, and told stories. The questions Jesus asked were not the one word answer sort – they were the kind that had no answer or 100  answers. Jesus’ similes were windows into describing the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God is like... thoughts one had to ponder. The stories – the parables are still confounding readers today; they are not plots that wrap up nicely, they are like stories with many interpretations.

To this world, Jesus taught in a way to activate and grow people’s capacity to speak and act in a different way to the world around them. To live outside of what they were conditioned to be, to live beyond what they were experiencing, to live God’s dream for creation. Jesus was trying to activate peoples’ imaginations so that God’s reign could and would become reality.

 

William Blake wrote:  The world of imagination is the world of eternity. It is the divine bosom into which we shall all go after death of the vegetative body. This world of imagination is infinite and eternal, where as the world of generation is finite and temporal.  --- “The Complete Works and Prose of William Blake” p.555

The world of imagination is the world of eternity.  Jesus knew that without imagination,  there can not be found: Hope in sadness, peace in chaos, liberation in captivity. There is no Freedom from bondage, life in death--- no Joy. No love – without imagination.

I attended a seminar that included a discussion on the how-tos of building healthy and wholesome brains in children.  Basically the brain is divided into different areas, each with a specific group of responsibilities. -Housekeeping, emotion, and thinking plus.- The brain's first priority is survival of the human: breathing, heart beating, finding food and water for fuel, protecting oneself from dangers. The more the brain works on tasks of survival the less energy there is for other parts of the brain and human development.  Research has been gathered showing that children who face repetitive trauma and live in precarious situations have heighten senses for survival, to the detriment of emotional and thinking abilities.  When children come out of such situations and are in safe places, educators/mentors/parents have a role in encouraging development in those parts of the brain that were set on hold. Yes, for wholeness of person, there needs to be a point made to grow the brain.  One of the best ways to foster this is to provide open-ended building opportunities. To grow imagination one needs to be given toys that are all about making decisions – but decisions that are not a list or a pattern or regulated or mapped – a toy that allows putting together and taking a part, so that there isn’t right or wrong, just the act of creation.  The suggestions offered in the seminar were wooden or Duplex blocks and  Lego.  The figuring out ‘how’ the blocks work grows the brain, thinking about ‘what’ to build grows the brain, considering ‘how’ to go about creating the ‘what’ grows the brain, finding solutions to problems as one is using the Lego grows the brain; making decisions of colour, figuring out space, conceptualizing, deciding to tear it down at the end... To some of you this may sound so very simple, but, I have watched children living in trauma – and met adults- for whom building with Lego or wooden blocks is next to impossible. If they are alone the blocks remain blocks – looked at – maybe moved around, but nothing created; and if with others they will copy whatever the person next to them is making.

 

We are in the season of Advent and we are looking out on a world facing repetitive trauma, with more and more people finding themselves living in precarious situations. People are living with heightened senses for survival, to the detriment of emotional and thinking abilities. Advent is calling our attention to this – pay attention – Jesus said,  “keep awake.”

And in Jesus’ manner, following in Jesus’ footsteps, respond to the world in a different way – a way that dissolves tyranny, precarious situations, and repetitive trauma.  In order to look at the world – renewed- by infusing it with hope, peace, liberation – themes of advent. To do this we need to be diligent in developing our capacity for imagination – so that we are better prepared to be conduits of God’s reign!  We need enormous abundance in our imaginations, and as a faith community, to dream what could be, can be, and imagination enough to say this WILL BE and then act using our creative powers to make it happen.

 

So what am I suggesting for practicing imagination:

When you go grab a deck of cards to play solitaire - build a card house instead;

When talking on the phone, doodle in the margins of whatever is lying near by;

Play with building blocks or buy yourself some Lego – even if you don’t have grandchildren to play with – treat your brain to new ways of thinking;

Make a gingerbread house – if you buy one in a box, get extra items to add and build with;

Read a Jesus’ parable every day and ponder the ins and outs of it ...

 

Practice attention and practice imagination – it is through these practices that we prepare for Christ and for birthing God’s reign on earth.

Robert Fulghum, in “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” wrote:

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe love is stronger than death.

May the stories of the season, themes of the season – hope, peace, liberation, freedom, joy, love-, and your growing imagination be the catalyst for the birthing of Christ in this place and time.

 Amen.