Friday, December 12, 2025
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Pink Apple Blossom Tree, Kauai, Hawaii, July 2023 |
In the secular world, the run-up to Christmas is an incredibly busy time. Gifts to buy, cards to write, baking to do, trees and houses to decorate.
For many, calendars are jam-packed with parties, concerts, road trips, school theme days, and all the other “normal” commitments of a 21st century life.
My calendar is no different. As I write this, I have constant notifications popping up on my phone; reminders for appointments, concerts, rehearsals, and so many other things that I need to hurry to get finished before the big day.
But Advent is meant to be about waiting, reflection, repentance, discernment. All things that are slow and take time.
One of the assigned lectionary readings for today is Psalm 1:
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
The psalmist presents the two paths that we can take, both during Advent and during the rest of our busy, secular lives. We can follow God’s path, obeying His laws, and praying to God constantly or we can choose the path of the wicked.
The imagery the psalmist uses is that of a beautiful tree living, well nourished, by a river and bearing fruit or chaff being blown this way and that in the wind.
Maybe it’s being a born and raised southern Albertan, but the imagery of wheat chaff blowing around is a powerful one. And, as I reflect on the business of this season of the year and my life, I can see how worldly desires can blow us around with no purpose or aim.
Desires come and go, trends come and go, wants come and go. And then there is a lovely tree, standing steady in the storm of life. And, like a tree with beautiful fruit, a life of prayer and service to God calls to others. They can see the fruits of the spirit in our lives.
Advent, the time of waiting and quiet contemplation, is so perfectly situated in this busy life and in the harried weeks before Christmas, where it can feel like we will never have enough time or enough things or enough money.
But, as Christians, we know that in slowing down and praying and waiting through Advent, we will reach the true Gift; the joy, the forgiveness, the redemption, and the reconciliation with God that comes through Jesus Christ.
Catherine Ball
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree Elizabeth Poston
King’s College Choir Cambridge (2009)
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