Sunday, December 5, 2010

Symbols and Threads


We were talking about the symbols and threads of meaning for Advent in Sunday School this morning, how we are in a season of anticipation or expectation —awaiting the birth of Christ. And when that birth does come then, that is our signal to go forth out into the world and love, welcome, forgive, help—whatever those qualities we use to identify ourselves as Christians. (The fact that we think about it could also mark us as Episcopalians).

Being a bad shopper on my best day (too much time in cramped and airless ladies’ changing room as a little girl), massive crowds of Christmas shoppers don’t hold much appeal.

I find other ways to get in the spirit that involve things like stopping by the hardware store for a pot of paperwhites in bloom, a Christmastime favorite of my grandmother's. I stuck them under Wolfie’s nose for a whiff and his eyes registered immediate recognition. I would add that the smell of paperwhites was mixed with that of wood smoke, wax, and sometimes a good soup or stew simmering on the stove.

My other Christmas purchase: Well, I’ve been driving past this store with Christmas stars on display, the paper kind that light from inside? I saw them around Christmastime in Berlin, these white stars hung under eves and in windows, beaming out into the cold, in the snow, in the night. It’s one of very few material things I’ve really wanted that isn’t a book.

Anyway, the shop with the Christmas stars in the window turned out to be a Buddhist, Eastern, sort of Shaman dealer—though I couldn’t be specific about how many religions were represented in the merchandise. Christianity was not among them.

And up close, I saw the Christmas star I wanted had OM symbols on it, which means the union of body, mind and spirit. I personally think that’s shorthand for “peace” but I’m no expert. And that very same Christmas star as a Christian symbol? Hope.

What’s next on my Christmas list? (Not shopping. I can do that last minute at the bookstore.) The lessons and carols service next Sunday at 4 p.m. Wonderful music, ancient stories, hopeful prayers. What could be better?