Every time you leave home,
Another road takes you
Into a world you were never in.
New strangers on other paths await,
New places that have never seen you
Will startle a little at your entry.
Old places that know you well
Will pretend nothing
Changed since your last visit………

~John O’Donohue

On Saturday morning I was cleaning up one of the several stacks of books I have built around our house. In that cleaning up I came across this blessing of John O’Donohue, someone whose words never fail to leave me breathless. I was struck with the invitation of these words not because I am going on any trip literally but because they spoke to me of this time of Advent which we in the Christian household began an observance of yesterday. These four weeks which lead up to the celebration of Christmas are some of my favorite days in the entire year. They are not so special to me because they are filled with the hustle and bustle of malls and shopping, the electric weariness that can accompany the count down of days left to purchase gifts. No. Instead these days of Advent are actually an invitation to do the very opposite. They are an invitation to the journey of rest, reflection, darkness, waiting, expectation. The outer world seems to so willingly provide the backdrop for this journey. Days are short. Darkness is our nearly constant companion. Winter is creeping in like a thief and we are powerless over its arrival.

Today marks the six year anniversary for me of writing this daily reflection I chose to call Pause. Its beginning those years ago was humble and spontaneous really. I made the commitment to post a daily meditation for members of the faith community I serve. They would be moments when people might ‘pause’ in the course of their daily lives and connect with their breath, take a moment to check in with their spirit, to remember this journey of days that unfolds toward new birth. I never dreamed it would still continue over these six years. I have met people through this space, people I would never have otherwise. Out of these words have come conversations, prayers, disagreements, friendships and a book. It was a road that took me to a ‘world I had never been in before’.

The fact that this surprises me only shows my own dim-wittedness. Isn’t this what Advent is supposed to do? Take us on roads we have never traveled before? Toward places we have not yet known? To meet people who will surprise us, challenge us, show us the face of God? To open us to new birth?

I mean just think of this story, this very big story, which we will tell over these dark days. Angels visit. Unimaginable claims are made. People go on journeys to places they had not planned to go. Places that proved dangerous and welcoming. Strangers offer shelter. People are struck dumb with wonder. Babies are born. Many drop whatever they are doing to be a part of it all. Gifts are given.

Advent. It is not for the faint of heart. What is this Advent season holding it to you? Are you watching and waiting for the surprises? Are you allowing the darkness to be a womb where something new might be born?

John O’Donohue offers these words as blessing:

When you travel,
A new silence
Goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.